If only we had Pink Dolphins in Victoria Harbour Hong Kong
Hong Kong Tourism - a more measured approach is needed
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong for 53 years - I know the place.
I have personally completed 2,340+ Private Tours and Experiences (over 6,000+ guests) since April 2011 and I am considered one of the finest Private Tour Guides in Asia.
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If only we had Pink Dolphins in Victoria Harbour Hong Kong
Hong Kong Tourism - a more measured approach is needed
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Frolicking Pink Dolphins in Victoria Harbour Hong Kong - do not bet against it, we just need someone important to suggest it!
I am different
I have a very evolved sense of humour but I am serious when the situation demands it!
The one thing I have which I personally really like about myself is my Yorkshire sense of humour and this is absolutely applicable when it comes to Politics and Tourism in Hong Kong.
the Hong Kong Tourism Boards budget for 2025 is HK$1.235 Billion or US$158 Million approx. which is quite a lot of money to promote Hong Kong
I made the statement to our youngest son recently which is quite quotable and sums up rather nicely the issue we have had in Hong Kong for a number of years now when it comes to tourism in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Government tries to hard and this is primarily because all it takes these days is for a Senior Chinese Official in the Chinese Government to make a comment about tourism in Hong Kong and immediately a working group is set up, a money no object plan is debated and before you know it and in record time the idea is set in stone, monthly visitor arrivals soar and everyone basks in the glory of their brilliance.
Put another way, if a senior politician from China said he would love to see Pink Dolphins swimming in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong because his kids love them, I can guarantee that our tourism officials would find a way, no matter the cost to make it happen and in record time.
I saw up close some Pink Dolphins in Tai O on Lantau Island in early May 2025 and boy those critters are cute when they frolic and leap out of the sea!
There is nothing wrong with anyone making suggestions on how to boost tourism in Hong Kong, but a measured approach is needed not a scattergun approach and seeing what sticks - it has always been an issue of great importance but if you try to hard then all you get is a huge hole in the Governments Financial Reserves, one should not just react to a problem and throw money at it, projects need to be carefully assessed for feasibility, coming up with hundreds of new ideas every month will not work, proper research needs to be done and I have always felt that they should re visit old ideas over the decades which sound great but where rejected
The classic case recently was the post covid Hello Hong Kong Campaign of 2023, the Hong Kong Government gave away 500,000 free airline tickets to encourage tourists to visit Hong Kong, I have yet to see any KPI report on whether or not the campaign was a success or an expensive flop
Yes, a KPI report - Key Performance Indicator.
There are times when I wish that Chinese Government Officials had made a comment about the fiasco that it is the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong which for most people is a real head shaker, this is | was a major tourism initiative and despite it being proposed and debated and written into a gazillion studies, the Terminal which opened in June 2013 has been a disaster of epic proportions because of transport and logistical problems in other words there is NO subway link to the Terminal and for 12 years now it has had enough negative press to make it the mother of all white elephants
The Terminal itself was built at the end of the old Kai Tak Internation Airport which closed in 1998 and that was infamous for traffic gridlock in the area, well nothing much has changed. the site is NOT in any shape or form in a convenient location and transport links are terrible with limited bus services, taxis hate to go there and it is expensive and takes a long time to get into town.
I must stress that the Terminal itself is terrific but the number of cruise ships visiting is not great and it lies idle for quite a few days a month, the retail mall is a ghost town because of transport difficulties, it has a wonderful rooftop garden but even the locals can’t be bothered to visit and worse, at the moment the minibus service from the nearest MTR Subway Station has major problems of over crowding caused by construction workers using the service to get to all the massive apartment blocks being built near to the Cruise Terminal.
Finally the Government has green lit a subway station (in some form or another) to link the Terminal to the rail | subway network but it is still at leasr 6 or 7 years away.
As far as revisiting old ideas to boost tourism in Hong Kong, here are a few I have written about, this is not rocket science, we need additional world class attractions to compete against all the other cities and countries in Asia, these require planning and some serious funding but to me anyway would be a much better bet than nightly drone shows or the whole mega event “economy” loved by the Politicians.
a new 251m high Hong Kong observation wheel to replace the rather modest and quite boring 60m wheel, oh and move it across the harbour to TST next to the Star Ferry or West Kowloon, so you can see the view of Hong Kong Island across Victoria Harbour - what a sensation that would be.
A cable car like the one we have on Lantau Island (NP 360) to the top of Lion Rock Mountain in Kowloon
A cable car to Victoria Peak from the west side of Hong Kong
A cable car from Victoria Peak to Stanley on the south side of Hong Kong Island
A pedestrian bridge across Victoria Harbour either to the west or the east of the Central Business District
An extension of the Mid Levels Escalator to Victoria Peak (and yes I think it is technically feasible)
We already have Disneyland and Ocean Park, so how about an amusement park or fun fair at more affordable prices
A couple of high end casino’s (I have mentioned this quite a few times) we have one of the most successful horse racing institutions in the world, horse racing professionally was established in 1884, it makes sense to have Casino’s
Hong Kong Tramways which operates street cars on Hong Kong Island (for over 120 years) should run a system in Kowloon along the full length of Nathan Road, that would be really something
Come up with some wow attractions at Hong Kong International Airport to rival Changi Airport in Singapore
Completely overhaul the Symphony of Lights Laser Light Show, we are still waiting for this to happen
Completely overhaul Stanley Market and add a street food section
Build a new mega night market to rival those in other major Asian cities with a huge street food section
.. And Pink Dolphins in Victoria Harbour, well wouldn‛t that be something!
My insider tip
Please note that in general if you book a tour on Viator or Tripadvisor you generally have NO control over what guide will lead your Private Tour of Hong Kong and this is the most important component of the tour. I urge you to check the actual company website and book via their website and do not forget to read Tripadvisor reviews as well.
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