(TAN): Hong Kong’s ecotourism sector will get HKD 50 million (USD 6.42 million approximately) from the government in order for it to sustain amid slowdown in visitor arrivals triggered by social unrest, reports said.
Travel agencies in Hong Kong will reportedly get a subsidy of up to HKD 50,000 for organising green tours, starting from January 1. Under the scheme, which will initially run for six months, travel agencies will be given HKD 100 for each tourist they book on a group of shortlisted eco tours, as per reports.
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“So, we hope that this scheme will also provide timely assistance to the hard-hit tourism trade, where this small token could encourage more travel agents or tourist guides to spend time in organising such activities for the enjoyment of our local community,” Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah was quoted by Ecns.cn as saying.
The scheme, specifically meant for local agencies that cater to Hong Kong residents, will lay down guidelines so that no plastic wares are used by participants and trash is disposed of correctly, reports said. The green spots will reportedly include country parks and the Geopark in Sai Kung.
“There has been suggestions that while we are having a tough time attracting tourists to the city, we should open up our precious green spots – including country parks which occupy more than 40 per cent of our territory – to Hong Kong people,” Yau was quoted by South China Morning Post as saying.
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Hong Kong has witnessed a sharp drop in visitor arrival numbers lately – tourist arrivals reportedly went down 56% in November compared to the same period last year. The number of inbound visitors on the other hand dipped 28.4% on December 22 vis-à-vis the same day last year, reports said.
The government reportedly hoped the numbers would go up, at least locally, while promoting green tourism, once the scheme was introduced.
However, environmental pressure groups and some tour operators criticised the government for digressing from the original aim of ecotourism and not weighing the environmental impacts the scheme will have, according to reports.
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