HONG KONG — After serving up a series of delicious dishes at his stylish Hong Kong Island restaurant, Cafe Bau, “Demon Chef” Alvin Leung was analyzing the ingredients he would need for his return to Hong Kong.
The visitor base is still rebuilding, and operating hours have been affected by shortages ranging from staff to taxis. But the Michelin-starred chef says fresh food, such as farm-to-table cuisine and Hong Kong’s duty-free shopping, is helping.
“The food is top-notch and offers a wide variety of great food at great prices,” said Mr. Leong.
The name Cafe Bau comes from the bauhinia flower, a symbol of Hong Kong, but he also cited the hopeful acronym “business as usual.”
Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, was one of the last destinations to reopen to tourism in March, according to Michael Lim, director of the Americas for the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
He said North America is the top long-haul market, with U.S. arrivals in 2023 projected to be just 44% of the average for January to October 2018 and 2019.
The slow return of tourists is one of many challenges facing Hong Kong. “Weak trade, visitor growth dent growth,” reads a local newspaper headline.
Destination: Hong Kong, set for a powerful comeback
People who come here will find a city that suits them.
“I don’t think Hong Kong has slept during the pandemic,” Lim said. “We have to keep exciting the audience with new products. We are ready to make a huge investment in the US.”
So after arriving on a Cathay Pacific flight in November, a delightful group of travel agents, airline staff and a few journalists, along with a host of tourism board representatives, set out for a week of exploring three experiences: arts/culture, food and outdoor activities.
Objective: To change the perception of Hong Kong from a gateway to a destination.
“It’s all about the experience,” Lim said.
Art, dining, panoramic views
One of my most memorable art experiences was the stunning trapezoid-shaped Hong Kong Palace Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District. Built during the closure, the museum houses an incredible collection of artifacts from ancient villages in China’s Sichuan province, and is on view until August next year, made even more vivid by 3D drone footage, sparkling backlighting, and excellent explanations.
A sampling of over 17,000 fine-dining establishments in Hong Kong included the chandelier-draped Chinese Library Restaurant, while a foodie tour of the small eateries of the working-class Sham Shui Po neighborhood offered delicious dumplings, baked goods and noodles. The tour was on hiatus, but our friendly guide, with the #HongKongBelli hashtag on her shirt, was the real deal.
Outdoor activities are the third axis of our trip, and include the brand’s skyline, which has the largest number of skyscrapers in the world, reflecting the city’s global financial status.
Reopened in 2022, the sixth generation Peak Tram will take you from the Central District to the harbour views of Victoria Peak. Watch out for selfie stick hordes as the sun sets.
A more tranquil trip to Lantau Island combines a ride on the glass-enclosed Ngong Ping 360 cable car, one of the longest in Asia, with a visit to the Po Lin Monastery to admire the Giant Buddha. When I visited in the early 1990s, it was just a steel frame under construction, but now the statue, majestic yet serene in the lotus position, rises 112 feet high in an idyllic, hilly setting.
The operators were impressed.
“Resilience – everything they’ve done to prepare for the post-COVID era,” said Taylor Hub, a first-time visitor to Abercrombie & Kent’s Chicago-based Asia product manager. “Historically, we’ve used Hong Kong as a transit point – three days, two nights to see the highlights. Now, we really understand what Hong Kong has to offer. There’s something for every interest.”
Chris Wang, co-founder of Toronto's Trip Connoisseurs, first visited Hong Kong in 1984 (my first visit was in 1987).
“Hong Kong is the gateway to Asia for the white mainstream market, with great food and shopping,” he said of his trip. “I never thought about the other aspects, like hiking in national parks or doing experimental activities (from neon art to cooking classes). Now I realize there’s so much more to Hong Kong.”
Where to stay
Staycations have supported many hotels during the COVID-19 period, and the same goes for Chinese guests as mainlanders are allowed to visit after Chinese New Year 2023.
Three five-star hotels have shown the high end of post-Covid recovery, each recording occupancy rates of around 80%. One of them, the Hari Hong Kong in Wan Chai, debuted just as the pandemic began.
“In fact, this hotel opened three years ago on December 12th, the day the government closed all restaurants,” says Edward Snokes, general manager of the 210-room, art-filled hotel.
Hari, located near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, attracts Europeans and East Asians, with Chinese customers now making up 28% and Americans 5-6%. The average stay for business is 2.4 days, but Snoeks says, “We have a pretty loyal clientele, and the leisure business has been very good for us. We try not to be a stereotypical model.”
A few blocks away, Accor Group’s AKI Hong Kong-MGallery opens in July 2022. Its 173 rooms include comfortable tatami settings and offer what complex sales manager Anna Cheung describes as “something stylish that keeps you comfortable.”
Airlines' restrictions have influenced customer behavior, Cheung said.
“It used to be so international. Now, more than 50 percent are from China. They come to conventions and stay one night.” International guests “come to convention leisure meetings and stay three or four or five nights.”
In the city’s Kowloon district, the 468-room New World Millennium, which underwent a major renovation during the pandemic and now boasts spacious, bright, harbour-view rooms, was my base camp.
Here, occupancy of more than 80 percent is expected to increase during the fourth quarter trade show season. “We expect travel to blossom,” said Mona Kwan, head of marketing communications, referring to seven-night packages targeting long-haul travelers.
Christine Lee, Director of Sales and Marketing, works with tourism boards to enrich these hospitality experiences.
“Before, it was always shopping, shopping, shopping. Now it’s more like experience, experience, experience,” she said, referring to the changing preferences of visitors.
“I think there’s so much more to offer these days,” she added. “You can have a new experience inside a museum, or you can have an action-packed day on a farm or hiking.”
Roddy Hanu, senior vice president of SITA World Tours in Encino, California, said SITA has received many inquiries and bookings through 2024 and is in the process of signing several groups, with plans to run multi-generational family trips in 2023 when Hong Kong first reopens.
She first visited Hong Kong in 1997, the year Britain handed the city over to China, and said the visit fuelled her enthusiasm.
“The notion of a two- or three-night stay in Hong Kong may now be outdated, given the vast array of new products and experiences that have been curated over the past few years,” Hanu said. “Hong Kong’s rebirth requires deep, extended stays.”
