Anticipating More Visitors to HK for October 1

Hong Kong may get more tourists for the October 1 holiday

A tourism executive believes Hong Kong could benefit from the upcoming October 1 holiday because... the mainland will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China!

How will Hong Kong celebrate this milestone? With a drone show, free trams, ferries, and half-price movie tickets among some of the offerings.

Free tram rides will not lure more visitors to HK

Timothy Chui, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association -- not Board -- says the public holiday will bring more long haul visitors to the city.

He said that hotel bookings were up during the October 1 holiday, particularly for budget and mid-range hotels.

In the meantime, surely the city can come up with grander celebratory things to do to mark 75 years of the PRC? Hong Kong needs more mega events! Tourists aren't coming to the city for free tram rides...!!! It only costs US40 cents!!!

HK Taxis Still Attacking Popular Uber

When will the government finally decide on Uber in the city?

It is really quite amazing that the Hong Kong government STILL has not resolved the issue of having ride-hailing apps in the city ever since Uber entered the market in 2014.

How can it be that the so-called "world's international city" has made ride-hailing services like Uber illegal?

Residents prefer taking Uber over taxis

As a number of people take Uber, they like the service because the vehicles are clean, the drivers are courteous and get them from point A to point B without the smell of cigarettes, listening to taxi drivers' rants and uncomfortable seats. Oh and they have seatbelts that work too.

Everyone is also made accountable -- the customer can rate the driver and vice versa. And the rides are paid via credit cards. Only a few Hong Kong taxis are accepting Octopus cards...

When it comes to taxis, there is no outlet to complain effectively and in a timely manner. Nor is there any kind of punishment let alone motivation for taxi drivers to improve their behavour and the condition of their vehicles.

The biggest complaints of taxis are refusing to take a potential customer, and overcharging; and why is it that they all seem to be unavailable at 4pm?

And yet the authorities seem to be at the mercy of the taxi industry. Recently, some taxi drivers have posed as Uber customers and instructing them to drop them off where the police are to get the ride-hailing drivers into trouble.

The public finds this tactic reprehensible and more annoyed with taxi drivers in general, and yet the government has not stopped them, or found a viable solution.

Taxi drivers worry about value of licenses

For taxi drivers it boils down to how much they had to shell out to buy a taxi license, which is now valued at HK$3 million (US$384,490); there are concerns that legalising Uber would devalue the taxi license.

Some say there is enough room for everyone to co-exist, while others say the government is reluctant to affect the value of the taxi licenses. Why is it that a taxi license has become an investment commodity? And we're in 2024, taxis do not have the monopoly when it comes to getting around, with the MTR, bus, tram, Star Ferry and now Uber.

The other issue is that the government officials who need to decide on this issue have not taken either mode of transport -- they have their own chauffeured cars. If they have experienced what it's like to take a taxi and an Uber first hand, then they will see why people prefer the latter over the former...

Word of the Day: Special Forces Travel

People like to buy a coffee and sit outside by the waterfront

The new buzzword among young Chinese mainlanders is 特种兵式旅游 or "special forces travel" -- visiting as many destinations as possible in a short period of time while spending the least amount of money.

They look to the app Xiaohongshu to help them plan their itinerary, and Hong Kong is one of their destinations.

Taking photos on the "special forces travel" list

Instead of lining up at luxury brand stores to buy the latest handbag or shoes, they are on a budget and visiting Hong Kong's various districts, though one in particular is really popular -- Kennedy Town, where I used to live.

They are descending on the waterfront, where a certain coffee shop known by its "%" sign -- Arabica -- is a super hot spot for "special forces travel".

The place was already very popular with locals who would come here on the weekends and pose with their lattes and iced coffees, and now it seems their mainland counterparts are doing the same, except in exponential numbers.

In Xiaohongshu, Kennedy Town is described as "the most romantic neighbourhood" in the city, perhaps with the waterfront scenery paired with eclectic stores and cafes, made popular by Arabica and Slowood, an eco-friendly shop that invites customers to buy food in bulk.

It's easy to get to too via tram, MTR and bus.

Slowood is an eco-friendly shop drawing visitors

Some believe young mainlanders traveling on budget is a sign that China's economic recovery hasn't come to fruition as hoped, and the property sector seems to be teetering to the brink with Evergrande Group and Country Garden having deep financial problems.

Other say post-pandemic they want to go out and experience life outside as much as possible to make up for lost time.

While it's good that money will be going to local businesses instead of multinational conglomerates, visitors should be careful while taking pictures at Kennedy Town's waterfront! There's a lot of traffic there that doesn't stop!

Costs More to Get Around in HK

Star Ferry fares are increasing by up to 56 percent in April

Inflation is hitting Hongkongers hard with the cost of food and necessities like electricity (up 5 percent), and now public transportation fares are going up. Way up.

The Star Ferry, which has been struggling for years, will raise its passenger fares by a whopping 56 percent. From April 3, The 125-year-old ferry operator will charge HK$5 on weekdays, up from HK$3.20, and on weekends HK$6.50, from HK$4.20, a 55 percent jump.

Bus companies asking government to raise fares

In its application to the government to raise fares, the Star Ferry explained it had suffered HK$85 million in losses since 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and owes HK$72 million to banks.

However, the reality is that the Star Ferry has been losing money since 2018, with fewer tourists especially in the second half of 2019 onward.

Now bus companies want to increase their fares too, by up to 50 percent. The bus companies, like KMB, Citybus, New World First Bus, and New Lantao Bus say they need to jack up fares because of higher operating costs and falling passenger numbers because of the pandemic.

Even tram fares have gone up 15.4 percent, where an adult fare is now HK$3, and taxi rides are up 13.8 percent.

Tram fares have gone up 13.4 percent

How seniors on their savings are going to survive is just going to lead to many more falling through the cracks... and now with civil societies forced to disband following the implementation of the national security law, there will be no one in these elderly people's corner to advocate for them...

The Last Mahjong Tile Maker to Close

Cheung hopes to continue making mah jong tiles by hand

Another one bites the dust.

The last shop to make mahjong tiles by hand will be closing at the end of this month after receiving an eviction notice from the Buildings Department.

The letter dated from September says Biu Kee Mahjong on 26 Jordan Road will be removed because the store is identified as an authorised building work due to it being located at the foot of the building's staircase.

He is the last tile maker in Hong Kong

In other words, Hong Kong has no interest in preserving its local culture.

Biu Kee's owner, Cheung Shun-king, known as "Uncle King" is still interested in making the mahjong tiles by hand until he gets too old, according to a Facebook post.

The post also says, "We sincerely hope the related government departments can deal with the situation in order to keep Biu Kee Mahjong in its current location and to allow the traditional art form of hand-carved mahjong tiles to be passed on."

Will anyone in authority listen to this earnest plea?

But when the government isn't interested in stepping in to save the Star Ferry which is teetering on the brink, nor giving more breaks to Hong Kong Tramways to keep the tram moving, you have to wonder how the Hong Kong Tourism Board has anything left to promote when old shops, businesses and services that have been around for decades or even over a century are left to die a long, slow death.

He uses traditional tools to carve tiles

Instead the authorities choose to waste taxpayer money on white elephant projects like the hundreds of quarantine units near Disneyland and Kai Tak, and pandemic supplies and vaccines that aren't being used, former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's cloth masks (remember those?) And those boxes of Chinese medicine Lianhua Qingwen that have been totally discredited by Singaporean health authorities...