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Context: ‘World’s biggest welcome ever’ – Hong Kong launches promotional drive to entice visitors after 3 years of isolation
Hong Kong has launched an all-out global promotional drive to entice visitors back into the city after three years of isolation under tough pandemic curbs. The city has announced “the world’s biggest welcome ever” with free air tickets, spending vouchers and special events.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled details of his government’s ambitious “Hello Hong Kong” campaign last month. He highlighted plans to give away 700,000 airline tickets, revive interest in the city’s tourist attractions, and restore its reputation as “the world’s freest economy”.
The city will also roll out more than 250 mega events and international-level exhibitions to entice businesspeople and visitors in the coming months. The Tourism Board has also started giving away at least 1 million spending vouchers worth HK$100 each under the “Hong Kong Goodies” campaign to welcome back visitors.
“We are going all out to tell our many good Hong Kong stories to overseas and mainland counterparts. Hong Kong enjoys unparalleled advantages under the unique ‘one country, two systems’ principle”, Lee said, referring to the framework under which the city was governed.
Chief Executive John Lee speaks at the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign launch ceremony. Photo: Elson Li
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po was hopeful that the ticket promotion would boost the economy as the drive would encourage consumer spending.
“Giving airline tickets away will have a multiplier effect. As it brings more visitors here, spending will increase in food and beverage and other sectors, which in turn will drive the economy,” he said.
The finance chief added that the government was proactively reaching out to the world to tell people about the opportunities in Hong Kong, while planning invites for 1,000 VIPs to visit the city. The targeted guests include business and political leaders, as well as influencers, representatives from the media sector and think tanks.
Entertainment tycoon Allan Zeman called the campaign a good thing to show the world that Hong Kong was open. But he said it could take time for people to visit before spreading the word about its attractions and rebuilding the city’s image abroad.
Staff writers
Question prompts:
What does the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign hope to achieve?
Identify THREE initiatives under the campaign. Do you think these are useful towards achieving the government’s goal?
Has Hong Kong’s tourism industry returned to normal?
Photo
Photo: YouTube/Discover Hong Kong
Question prompts:
The photo shows a composite image of celebrities Sammi Cheng (from left), Aaron Kwok and Kelly Chen in videos for the “Hello, Hong Kong” campaign. What is each person doing in the advertisements above?
How effective do you think this advertisement is in convincing tourists to visit the city?
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News: Advertising experts say ‘Hello Hong Kong’ tourism campaign fails to highlight city’s uniqueness
Video featuring city’s leader was “embarrassingly bad in execution”, veteran advertising expert says
Director of a local advertising agency criticises the campaign for lacking emotional appeal
Advertising experts have said Hong Kong’s all-out global promotional drive to entice visitors was poorly executed and fails to highlight the city’s uniqueness.
Chris Kyme, co-founder and creative director of local creative agency Kymechow, said the campaign, which the city needed badly, lacked a proper strategy. “To get the right strategy, we would need to look at how the outside world perceives Hong Kong right now, and think of a strategy to address that,” the veteran advertising expert said.
Kyme said the world had a negative perception of Hong Kong in recent years, with media reports saying the city was losing its status and facing an emigration wave. Such concerns should be addressed with a good strategy that would truly attract visitors to the city, he added.
The mega campaign features separate videos with city leader John Lee Ka-chiu, representatives from several chambers of commerce and three local celebrities introducing the city in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.
But Kyme said the video featuring Lee extending his “warmest welcome” to the world was “embarrassingly bad in execution” and looked “cheap and tacky”.
“If you have the opportunity to feature the chief executive in your video, you need to think of a world-class approach that does justice to his presence,” Kyme said.
He said a video featuring celebrities was better filmed and crafted, but he still found it to be “lacking an idea”, adding that the choice of celebrities would only appeal to a local audience, not an international one.
Rudi Leung Chi-sing, director of local advertising agency Hungry Digital, said the campaign tried to showcase everything Hong Kong had to offer, but lacked emotional appeal.
“There are many boxes to check in a 30-second commercial,” he said, referring to the videos featured. “Even if we checked all the boxes to tell the world that Hong Kong has everything, what is the X-factor defining our uniqueness?”
Staff writer
Question prompts:
According to Kyme, how does the outside world perceive Hong Kong?
Based on your answer above, suggest ONE way the Hong Kong Tourism Board can address the world’s current perception of the city.
Refer to the last paragraph. Use your own knowledge to list and explain TWO “X-factors” that define Hong Kong’s uniqueness.
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Issue: Hong Kong eyes Michelle Yeoh as tourism ‘ambassador’
Recent Academy Award winner is among the celebrities to be approached over roles promoting the city
Visitor numbers projected to reach more than 25 million by end of year, still less than half of the 2019 figure
Hong Kong authorities are hoping to draw on the star power of recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh to promote the city.
The Tourism Board projected the number of visitors would reach more than 25 million by the end of the year, which is still less than half of the 2019 level.
“The Hong Kong Tourism Board expects a gradual and orderly recovery for the city’s tourism industry,” it said earlier this month. But it admitted the recovery pace would depend on several factors, including talent recruitment across a depleted travel sector, regional competition, the global economic outlook and the strength of the Hong Kong dollar, which has weighed on visitors’ budgets.
Meanwhile, Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh made history as the first Asian woman to win an Oscar for best actress for her role in 2022’s sci-fi action film Everything Everywhere All at Once. She is among the celebrities the board is approaching over tourism ambassador roles.
Yeoh mentioned Hong Kong – where she made a name for herself in the film industry – in her acceptance speech and the board hopes to persuade the Malaysian actress to take up the role.
Michelle Yeoh has won an Oscar for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Photo: Reuters
According to Dane Cheng Ting-yat, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, a commercial featuring local pop singers Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, Kelly Chen Wai-lam and Sammi Cheng Sau-man is expected to reach about 200 million people globally.
More than 250 videos will also be produced featuring celebrities, influencers and business leaders to promote the city, including K-pop artist Rain and award-winning Japanese film composer Yusuke Hatano.
The board said authorities would allocate an extra HK$600 million in funding this year to revive and support the industry, taking its funding to HK$1.35 billion. The body would also add HK$200 million from its own reserves.
The board said that it would use the additional funding from the government to promote tourism related to meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.
Staff writers
Question prompts:
Why does the Hong Kong Tourism Board want to persuade Michelle Yeoh to become the city’s tourism ambassador? Explain using News, Issue and your own knowledge.
Some have suggested the board should feature everyday locals and tourists in its ads and promotional campaign. How far do you agree with this suggestion, and why?
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Glossary
Hong Kong Goodies: part of the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign, tourists can redeem free “welcome drinks” and receive discounts on attractions and retail, as well as food and beverage and transport from more than 16,000 outlets. According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the “Hong Kong Goodies” drive would help visitors make the most of their stay and allow them to “explore the city’s unique experiences”.
mega events and international-level exhibitions: these include music festival Clockenflap; Art Basel; and the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament which will be held later this month, as well as the “Virtually Versailles” exhibition from April to July and the first Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival from April to December.
multiplier effect: refer to the proportional amount of increase or decrease in final income that results from an injection or withdrawal of spending
tourism ambassador: someone who is elected to become a public figure to improve the tourism and culture of a certain city or country
The Hong Kong Tourism Board predicts that the number of visitors will reach more than 25 million by the end of 2023. Photo: Yik Yeung-man
Sample answers
Context:
What does the “Hello Hong Kong” campaign hope to achieve? It hopes to bring more visitors to Hong Kong, boosting the city’s economy while also restoring its reputation as “the world’s freest economy”.
Identify THREE initiatives under the campaign. Do you think these are useful towards achieving the government’s goal? The free airline tickets are the first step in bringing tourists back to Hong Kong, while the shopping vouchers will encourage them to spend more and support the local economy. The various events and exhibitions will keep tourists coming back to the city and will show them the city’s benefits for business, art and culture. (accept other reasonable answers)
Photo:
The photo shows a composite image of celebrities Sammi Cheng (from left), Aaron Kwok and Kelly Chen in videos for the “Hello, Hong Kong” campaign. What is each person doing in the advertisements above? Sammi Cheng looks like she is jogging in a country park. Aaron Kwok is dancing through what looks like a street in Central. Kelly Chen is holding some cha chaan teng foods.
How effective do you think this advertisement is in convincing tourists to visit the city? I do not think this is very effective because the star are not engaging in any activities that are particularly unique to Hong Kong. / These stars are quite old and will not appeal to new generations of tourists. (accept other reasonable answers)
News:
According to Kyme, how does the outside world perceive Hong Kong? He said the world had a negative perception of Hong Kong in recent years, with media reports saying the city was losing its status and facing an emigration wave.
Based on your answer above, suggest ONE way the Hong Kong Tourism Board can address the world’s current perception of the city. It can include promotional ads featuring individuals who have recently moved to Hong Kong or expatriates who have continued to stay in the city.
Refer to the last paragraph. Use your own knowledge to list and explain TWO “X-factors” that define Hong Kong’s uniqueness. Accept all reasonable answers such as the city’s food, architecture, history, newest attractions or unique events
Issue:
Why does the Hong Kong Tourism Board want to persuade Michelle Yeoh to become the city’s tourism ambassador? Explain using News, Issue and your own knowledge. It wants to leverage her global profile as an Oscar-winning awardee to bring more attention to the city, where she made a name for herself in the film industry. Right now, she has the attention of a much wider audience, as opposed to local celebrities that are more famous in Hong Kong than they are outside.
Some have suggested the board should feature everyday locals and tourists in its ads and promotional campaign. How far do you agree with this suggestion, and why? I think a mix of both types of ads – those featuring celebrities and influencers, as well as those with ordinary people – will do well in this case. Real people are perceived as more authentic and helps outside viewers to form a deeper connection with the city, and the tourism board can create more “guide-related” content such as neighbourbood places to visit for those who have been to Hong Kong already. On the other hand, for those who have never been to Hong Kong, influencer shout-outs and celebrity endorsements are more useful in informing them about the city. (accept other reasonable answers)
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