Hong Kong courts Middle East tourists with ‘high-end’ sports offerings
Government touts Hong Kong’s competitive advantages in attractions such as horse racing and yacht tourism
HONG KONG (MNTV) – Hong Kong is seeking greater partnerships with its Middle East tourism counterparts with high-end offerings such as sports and horse racing in a bid to promote itself as a premier destination for the region’s travellers, reports South China Monitoring Post.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has signed two memorandums of understanding with two major travel agents in the region, Musafir.com and Almosafer International Travel and Tourism Company, to establish a framework for future cooperation.
The signings were carried out while a delegation of about 30 Hong Kong representatives visited Dubai earlier this week.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui went on a charm offensive in Dubai to expand the city’s market outreach in the region. She met the sports minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, and highlighted the vibrant horse racing culture in the city. She also invited him to visit Hong Kong to explore further opportunities for sports cooperation and exchanges.
She emphasized that Hong Kong has competitive advantages in horse racing and yacht tourism, which presented significant potential for further development.
She also held discussions with Qatar Airways CEO Engr Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, and the deputy president and chief commercial officer of the Emirates Adnan Kazim, about strengthening partnerships to promote Hong Kong as a premier travel destination for Middle East markets.
Law reiterated Hong Kong’s eagerness to deepen ties with the Middle East, not only by welcoming visitors from the region but also by encouraging more Hong Kong people to explore the Middle East for both leisure and business.
The Tourism Board said it would work closely with the two travel agents in the Middle East to bring visitors to Hong Kong from the region through packaged travel products and joint marketing campaigns.
Dane Cheng, the board’s executive director, said Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar were high-spending visitor source markets that Hong Kong hoped to attract.
“As flight capacity between Hong Kong and the GCC countries increases, HKTB will strive to attract Middle Eastern visitors to Hong Kong through various approaches to unlock this market and create partnership opportunities for trade, while enhancing the quality of Hong Kong tourism,” he said.
Tourism Board statistics for last year showed the city received 405,508 visitors from Malaysia and 366,973 from Indonesia – both countries with large Muslim populations – and 16,498 from the GCC, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The arrivals were an increase from 2023, when there were 270,588 visitors from Malaysia, 257,279 from Indonesia and 9,743 from the Gulf.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
