'Boost tourism at cruise terminal, Sports Park'

RTHK：Video News

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said officials are exploring ways to enhance the operation of the cruise terminal and optimise the use of Kai Tak Sports Park to boost tourism in Hong Kong. During the first antechamber exchange session of the year, Law said she received valuable feedback and suggestions regarding the new tourism blueprint, with officials and members in attendance including Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk and Legco President Andrew Leung. She said her expectations for the new operator of the terminal would significantly improve its performance, adding that she also hopes to improve the use of the shoreline. "There is no 'the best situation', there is only better operation. So this is my constant expectation, and in the new tendering exercise, of course we will be reviewing the criteria imposed so far. After all, the cruise terminal has been in operation for more than 10 years and the same operator has been operating the terminal," she said. "I know that society and, of course, myself and my colleagues in the CSTB (Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau) have different views on the operation of the cruise terminal and how it might be improved." Law also noted that she had received insights and suggestions on how to enhance Kai Tak Sports Park's potential as a world-class venue for mega events. New People's Party lawmaker Adrian Ho told RTHK it is necessary for greater collaboration with local investment groups interested in funding sporting events at Kai Tak Sports Park. "The infrastructure, the hardware is fantastic. I've been to that already. Right now, I think that it all comes down to kind of software, what kind of events are we going to be hosting, the frequency of the event that we'll be hosting, the quality of it, and also how do we maintain this kind of standard throughout the years," he said. "We've got the big stadium, 50,000 people capable, and the smaller arena, you can have 10,000 plus people. So obviously, the scale of it is huge. In hosting this kind of scale of events, we need to engage local sports community to have athletes, organisers and all that, but more at the same time, sponsors as well as sort of investors too. I think that we need to ramp that up in a very near future." DAB lawmaker Vincent Cheng, who is also vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Sports Institute, praised the transportation arrangements and crowd management during the recent test events at the Sports Park, but noted the importance of addressing additional issues, such as dining options, to maximise the potential of the local sports economy. Another DAB member, Brave Chan, suggested that officials should permit more private vehicles from the mainland to enter Hong Kong during holidays. He also recommended extending docking times for international and mainland private yachts and cruise ships to attract more tourists to the SAR.