Month: April 2025

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

Foreign Minister Lin hosts banquet for delegation from New Zealand All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan

Date：2025-04-15
Data Source：Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

April 15, 2025
No. 096
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung hosted a luncheon on April 15 for a delegation from the New Zealand All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan. On behalf of the Taiwan government, he sincerely welcomed the delegation and thanked the New Zealand Parliament for its long-standing and staunch cross-party support of Taiwan. 
 
Minister Lin emphasized that Taiwan and New Zealand shared the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights. He added that under the Taiwan-New Zealand economic cooperation agreement (ANZTEC), economic, trade, investment, cultural, and indigenous exchanges had continued to grow steadily. In the face of authoritarian expansionism in the Indo-Pacific region, Minister Lin recognized and thanked New Zealand for repeatedly affirming the vital importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and for firmly supporting Taiwan’s participation in the international community. He expressed confidence that moving forward, both countries would continue working hand in hand to promote regional security and prosperity.

The delegation was led by Senior Whip of the National Party Stuart Smith. He stated that his first trip to Taiwan had been in 2015 and that he was visiting again now to witness Taiwan’s political and economic development over the past decade. Noting that both Taiwan and New Zealand sought free trade and upheld universal values, he indicated that at a time when countries worldwide were facing geopolitical challenges and trade barriers, exchanging views on issues of common concern was particularly important for New Zealand as it responded to global changes. Labour Party Member of Parliament Tangi Utikere, cohead of the delegation, said that the visit would facilitate the New Zealand Parliament’s understanding of the current state of Taiwan-New Zealand relations and allow it to draw on Taiwan’s experience, making development on both sides more successful.

 The New Zealand All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan was established in 2023 and first sent a cross-party delegation of parliamentarians to Taiwan in 2024. This year, the delegation will remain in Taiwan from April 13 to 18, calling on President Lai Ching-te, meeting with representatives of relevant government agencies, and visiting sites of political, economic, and cultural interest to further the Taiwan-New Zealand partnership. (E)

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Transport & Logistics Bureau today issued letters to inform applicants about the results of the third round of applications to the “Labour Importation Scheme for the Transport Sector – Aviation Industry”.

The bureau said that during the application period a total of 34 eligible companies submitted applications, involving requests to import 3,292 workers across all 10 job types under the scheme. Of these, 2,206 were approved.

In vetting and approving applications, an interdepartmental liaison group took into consideration factors such as applicants’ business development needs and the requirements of the scheme, the bureau added.

Upon conclusion of the exercise, all 6,300 places under the scheme have been approved.

The bureau said it will announce details on further aspects of the scheme, including arrangements in relation to the expiry of imported workers’ employment contracts, in due course.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

MOFA response to display of Nazi symbol and salute at New Taipei District Prosecutors Office

Date：2025-04-16
Data Source：Department of West Asian and African Affairs

April 16, 2025  
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has noted that a Taiwanese national wearing a swastika armband and holding a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf made a Nazi salute at the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office on April 15. Like most other countries, Taiwan firmly rejects Nazi symbols, which represent an ideology of prejudice and hatred that led to the historic tragedy of the Holocaust. Many nations have also explicitly banned the use of such symbols. MOFA strongly condemns this highly inappropriate method of expressing personal opinion.
 
MOFA reiterates that Taiwan is a country that respects freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. The constitution protects people’s right to express their opinions and exercise freedom of speech. MOFA urges the people of Taiwan to recognize the negative associations and historical trauma attached to Nazi symbols and gestures within the international community. It calls on the public not to bring distress to people of other countries, tarnish Taiwan’s international reputation, and engage in counterproductive forms of expression.
 
MOFA sincerely hopes that the people and government of Taiwan will work together to actively demonstrate tolerance for different cultures, religions, and ethnic groups of the world. It looks forward to everyone jointly striving for a brighter and more inclusive future.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

MOFA expresses condolences over passing of former US Deputy Secretary of State Armitage

Date：2025-04-15
Data Source：Department of North American Affairs

April 15, 2025The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) expresses its profound condolences over the passing of former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. It has instructed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States to convey its sincere sympathies to his family on behalf of the people and government of the Republic of China (Taiwan).Mr. Armitage served as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs from 1983 to 1989 under President Ronald Reagan and President George H. W. Bush and as deputy secretary of state under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2004. An important friend of Taiwan, he staunchly supported both the preservation of peace across the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan’s democracy, making outstanding contributions to Taiwan-US relations and security in the Indo-Pacific. He also visited Taiwan on multiple occasions to convey his unwavering support. He was a member of a US delegation that visited Taiwan to meet and exchange opinions with President Tsai Ing-wen in 2021. In 2024, he joined former National Economic Council Director Brian Deese in leading a US delegation to the inauguration of the 16th-term president and vice president of the ROC (Taiwan), extending bipartisan felicitations from the United States to President Lai Ching-te and the people of democratic Taiwan. During that visit, he called Taiwan an important voice for democracy in the world and reaffirmed the United States’ firm commitment to ensuring peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also expressed steadfast concern regarding China’s military threats and coercion against Taiwan, stating that the more China bullied Taiwan, the more the international community would speak up for Taiwan.

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

MOFA response to French Foreign Minister Barrot reaffirming France’s opposition to unilateral attempts to change cross-strait status quo by force or coercion

Date：2025-04-11
Data Source：Department of European Affairs

April 11, 2025  

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot attended a regular hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Armed Forces on April 9. In response to a question by Senator Olivier Cadic, Vice President of the committee, Minister Barrot stated that France and the other Group of Seven (G7) members had reached a consensus on the importance of maritime security across the Taiwan Strait and other regions before issuing the G7 foreign ministers’ statement on April 6. He added that France had participated in joint sea and air drills in the Indo-Pacific with countries in the region to reaffirm the high level of importance it attached to freedom of navigation on the high seas, as enshrined in international maritime law. He also noted that France remained opposed to any unilateral attempts to use force or coercion to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
 
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung sincerely thanks France for continuing to monitor peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific, as well as reiterating its opposition to unilateral attempts to alter the cross-strait status quo by force or coercion. Maintaining cross-strait peace and stability is a matter of international consensus and common interests. The world is well aware of China’s attempts to steadily increase cross-strait tensions, change the cross-strait status quo, and undermine regional peace and stability. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan is committed to continuing to work hand in hand with France and other like-minded partners to jointly safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific. 

Source: Republic of China Taiwan

MOFA response to NATO-Japan joint statement stressing importance of cross-strait peace and stability

Date：2025-04-11
Data Source：TAIWAN-JAPAN RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

April 11, 2025 

Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Mark Rutte held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Japan Shigeru Ishiba in Tokyo on April 9. In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the two sides strongly opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. They also emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of the international community’s security and prosperity and encouraged the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues. Furthermore, the statement recognized that the security of the Euro-Atlantic and that of the Indo-Pacific were interconnected, stressing that continued Japan-NATO cooperation would benefit the security of both regions. 
 
This Japan-NATO bilateral meeting was the first since Secretary General Rutte assumed office. It also marked the third time since 2022 that the two sides had issued a joint statement conveying a high level of concern over cross-strait issues. The joint statement underscored the fact that the security of Taiwan has become a common global issue and that the international community has formed a high level of consensus on countering authoritarian expansion led by China and Russia and on ensuring peace across the Taiwan Strait. In addition, it demonstrated that cross-strait peace and stability are closely related to not only the security environment of the Indo-Pacific but also that of Europe. 
 
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung sincerely appreciates and welcomes the support for cross-strait peace and stability that NATO and Japan expressed at their meeting. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates that Taiwan, as an important country in the Indo-Pacific and a responsible member of the international community, will continue to work closely with allied nations to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific; uphold the rules-based international order; and safeguard regional and world peace, stability, and prosperity.

Source: Government of Singapore

Singapore, 16 April 2025 – Inter-monsoon conditions are expected to continue for the rest of April 2025. Prevailing winds will be mostly light and variable in direction, and blow from the southeast or southwest on some days.

2          In the second fortnight of April 2025, short-duration thundery showers are expected over parts of the island in the afternoon on most days. On some occasions, the showers may extend into the evening. In addition, Sumatra squalls may bring widespread thundery showers and gusty winds during the pre-dawn hours and morning on a few days. There may be a few days with little rainfall. The total rainfall for the second fortnight of April 2025 is forecast to be near average over most parts of the island.

3          The daily maximum temperatures are likely to range between 33 degrees Celsius and 34 degrees Celsius on most days, with highs of around 35 degrees Celsius on a few days.

4          For updates of the daily weather forecast, please visit the MSS website (www.weather.gov.sg), NEA website (www.nea.gov.sg), or download the myENV app.

REVIEW OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS (1 – 15 APRIL 2025)

5          In the first fortnight of April 2025, inter-monsoon conditions prevailed over Singapore, with prevailing winds generally light and variable in direction. On some days, the low-level winds shifted to blow from the south or southwest.

6          Thundery showers fell over parts of the island in the afternoon and evening on most days. On 13 April 2025, regional convergence of winds led to the development of intense thundery showers over Singapore in the afternoon. A total of 117.0mm of rainfall was recorded around the Yishun Ring Road area that day. This was the highest daily rainfall recorded for the first fortnight of April 2025.

7          Although it rained across the island on most days, there were nine days when maximum temperatures of 34 degrees Celsius or more were recorded in the first fortnight of April 2025. The highest daily maximum temperature of 36.2 degrees Celsius was recorded at Paya Lebar on 12 April 2025.

8          Most parts of Singapore recorded above-average rainfall in the first fortnight of April 2025. The area around Yio Chu Kang Road registered rainfall of about 217 per cent above average, and the area around Kranji Reservoir registered rainfall of about 9 per cent below average.

 

CLIMATE STATION STATISTICS

Long-term Statistics for April   (Climatological reference period: 1991-2020)
Average daily maximum temperature:	32.4	°C
Average daily minimum temperature:	25.3	°C
Average monthly temperature:	28.2	°C
Average rainfall:	164.3	mm
Average number of rain days:	15
Historical Extremes for April   (Rainfall since 1869 and temperature since 1929)
Highest monthly mean daily maximum temperature:	33.9	°C (1983)
Lowest monthly mean daily minimum temperature:	23.1	°C (1934)
Highest monthly rainfall ever recorded:	454.9	mm (1900)
Lowest monthly rainfall ever recorded:	16.6	mm (1977)

METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE SINGAPORE

16 Apr 2025

~~ End ~~

For more information, please submit your enquiries electronically via the Online Feedback Form or myENV mobile application.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Labour Department today thanked the Office of the Ombudsman for affirming the department’s numerous effective efforts to enhance occupational safety and health (OSH) in the construction industry.

In its direct investigation report into the Government’s regulation of OSH in the construction industry, the Ombudsman recognised the department’s work, including amending the relevant legislation to raise the maximum penalties for OSH offences and revising the codes of practice to strengthen safety requirements for specific work processes.

The department’s work in conducting special enforcement operations to curb unsafe work practices, improving mandatory safety training courses and enhancing the supervision of course providers as well as promoting a culture of safety via various channels was also acknowledged.
       
Meanwhile, the department is taking follow-up action on the report’s recommendations, including a planned trial with small unmanned aircraft to assist in law enforcement in the second half of this year, in addition to exploring the adoption of speech-to-text technology to assist in taking statements to enhance the efficiency of evidence collection.

It will also broaden the participation of safety committee meetings to cover high-risk private construction sites with a poor safety performance; strengthen monitoring of safety practitioners to ensure they discharge their duties cautiously; and enhance the monitoring of mandatory safety training course providers and instructors’ performance.
       
Additionally, the Labour Department will actively study and follow up on other recommendations raised by the Ombudsman, and strengthen collaboration with the Development Bureau and the Buildings Department.

It will continue to adopt the three-pronged strategy of inspection and enforcement, publicity and promotion, and education and training, complemented by the application of technology to actively foster OSH in the construction industry and enhance workers’ safety awareness.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by Dr the Hon Lam So-wai and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (April 16):
 
Question:
 
Regarding promoting the development of the tourism industry, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has assessed the actual effectiveness of various tourism promotional campaigns (including the “Night Vibes Hong Kong” and the “Hello Hong Kong” campaigns) in the past three years, including but not limited to (i) the growth in the number of visitor arrivals, (ii) the consumption pattern and spending of visitors, (iii) ‍the actual economic benefits to the local retail and catering industries, and (iv) the gap between the actual effectiveness and the expected targets;
 
(2) whether the Government has formulated a specific timetable and effectiveness indicators for the implementation of the 133 measures in the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0 (Blueprint 2.0); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(3) as given that it is learnt that the tourism industry and related service industries (e.g. retail and catering industries) are currently facing the challenges of manpower shortage and digital transformation, and that Blueprint ‍2.0 proposes to strengthen the cultivation of talents for the tourism industry and promote the development of smart tourism, of the Government’s specific support measures (including the relevant funding arrangements) in place to assist the industry (especially small and medium-sized enterprises) in overcoming the relevant difficulties?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
In respect of the question raised by the Hon Lam So-wai, in consultation with the Labour Department, the reply is as follows:
 
(1) With the re-opening of Hong Kong’s cross-boundary tourism activities in early 2023, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) immediately launched a large-scale global promotional campaign, “Hello Hong Kong”, in February of the same year. Through the launch of a series of promotional activities, the HKTB has made every effort to promote the recovery of tourism, spread the welcome message around the globe, reconnect with global visitors and entice them to experience the excitement and charms of Hong Kong in person.
 
Highlights of the large-scale global promotional campaign “Hello Hong Kong” included:
 

Sending the greatest welcome to the world	The HKTB invited trade representatives, celebrities and key opinion leaders (KOLs), etc, to take part in the production of more than 330 video clips featuring travel experiences in Hong Kong to send a welcome message to the world. These videos were broadcast on more than 3 000 different platforms worldwide. During the period, the “Hello Hong Kong” dance challenge launched on social media platform TikTok attracted over 1.2 million video clips from netizens with 1.5 billion global viewership. The challenge became TikTok’s promotional campaign with the highest traffic in the Southeast Asian market in the first quarter of 2023 and brought 300 000 new followers to the HKTB’s official account, increasing the total number of followers to around 2 million.   To welcome inbound visitors from all over the world, provide an additional promotional channel for local merchants and create business opportunities, the HKTB distributed about 2 million Hong Kong Goodies visitor consumption vouchers (each valued at HK$100 or more) for visitors to redeem offers or free welcome drinks at one of the 4 000 designated catering outlets, retailers or attractions across the city.   At the same time, the HKTB supported the promotion of the Airport Authority Hong Kong’s giveaway of 500 000 air tickets in various visitor source markets.
Seeing is believing – inviting guests to Hong Kong for first-hand experience	In 2023, the HKTB invited over 2 000 trade and media representatives, celebrities, KOLs and HKTB’s Hong Kong Super Fans from the Mainland, Southeast Asia and Europe, etc, to visit the city in person for tailor-made thematic itineraries to showcase Hong Kong’s diverse tourism appeal and tell good stories of Hong Kong.
Reaching out to the world – showcasing Hong Kong’s appeal	The HKTB took the initiative in leading the trade to reach out to the world by participating in more than 20 large-scale travel fairs and trade events related to meetings, incentive travels, conventions and exhibitions held in the Mainland and overseas markets in 2023, so as to demonstrate Hong Kong’s tourism appeal and help the trade explore business opportunities.

In 2024, the HKTB also actively developed diversified tourism experiences to enhance the city’s appeal as a travel destination by making use of Hong Kong movies to promote tourism, promoting panda tourism and riding on various Chinese and Western festivals such as the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Halloween, as well as different themes like arts and culture, neighbourhoods, great outdoors, to bring in brand-new experiences and hype up the blissful ambience. 
 
Meanwhile, over the past two years after the pandemic, the HKTB resumed hosting of different mega events covering sports, gastronomy and entertainment elements, including the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races, Hong Kong Cyclothon, Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival, Hong Kong WinterFest, Hong Kong New Year Countdown Celebrations and International Chinese New Year Night Parade, while injecting new perspectives, elements and experiences to enrich the events. HKTB organised in 2023 the first “Harbour Chill Carnival” at the Wan Chai harbourfront, featuring music shows on water stage, street performances and X-Games performances; “Summer Chill Food Lane” was set up during the 2024 Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races; “Cyclothon Carnival” was held in 2024 Hong Kong Cyclothon; and the previously four-day Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival was extended to five-day in 2024, attracting more locals and visitors. 
 
In addition, the HKTB presented a series of drone shows and pyrotechnic displays with different themes to tie in with festivals and events in 2024 such as the Galloping Horse in the Sky drone show and Winter Harbourfront Pyrotechnics Show, which successfully created a vibrant city-wide ambience. The events attracted both local and international media exposure and active participation of both locals and visitors, reinforcing the city’s status as the Events Capital of Asia and bringing global publicity value, thereby creating a vibrant atmosphere in the city and stimulating consumption and economy.
 
To support the “Night Vibes Hong Kong” campaign launched by the Government in mid-September 2023, HKTB also rolled out a number of mega events and promotions to enhance ambience at night. These included the promotion support for the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, promotion of the “Hallo” Hong Kong Halloween campaign, “Hong Kong Night Treats” dining vouchers, Hong Kong Night Bus Tour visitor exclusive offers and brand-new Temple Street promotion.
 
The effectiveness of the HKTB’s tourism promotion work cannot be assessed entirely in quantifiable terms. Notwithstanding, the HKTB will set different indicators based on the nature of its promotions and events, such as website views, social media reach, global media exposure, participants’ satisfaction, likelihood to recommend to family and friends and intention to revisit, to measure the effectiveness. The various tourism promotions launched by the HKTB in the past three years received positive feedback. Not only have they successfully showcased Hong Kong’s return to normalcy after the pandemic, but also boosted the city vibe, creating more reasons for visitors to visit Hong Kong and attracting them to visit. The promotions have met their objectives.
 
(2) The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) announced on December 30, 2024, the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0 (Blueprint 2.0) outlining the overall working direction for the development of Hong Kong’s tourism industry from 2025 to 2030. Blueprint 2.0 proposes four-pronged positioning for tourism development and four major development strategies, covering product development, visitor source expansion, smart tourism and service enhancement, with a view to promoting the prosperous and healthy development of Hong Kong’s tourism industry. At the same time, Blueprint 2.0 proposes 133 specific actions and measures that are conducive to the development of tourism, with a view to stimulating the vitality of the tourism market through diversified strategies, enriching the quality and content of tourism products and services, and further mobilising different industries to jointly promote the development of Hong Kong’s tourism industry. The implementation schedule of the various measures which are categorised into short- (within three years), medium- (three to six years) and long- (more than six years) term and the related performance indicators are set out in Blueprint 2.0.
 
(3) The CSTB has been maintaining liaison with tourism-related parties, including the HKTB, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC), the Travel Industry Authority (TIA), the Hong Kong Hotels Association and the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, to understand the existing situation of manpower resources among different job categories in the industry and explore feasible remedial measures in a bid to cope with the short, medium and long-term needs of manpower resources.
 
Blueprint 2.0 sets out the overall working direction and strategy in the next five years and one of the development strategies is to enhance the service quality and support of the tourism industry on all fronts, and to cultivate talents, which covers 31 measures.
 
Following the related strategy, the CSTB will continue to maintain close communication with the tertiary institutions that provide hotel and tourism-related curriculum, encourage collaboration among tertiary institutions and the trade in organising career expos and seminars to enhance young people’s understanding of the development prospects of the tourism industry, make good use of various tourism volunteer and youth ambassador programmes to nurture more aspiring youth to join the tourist guide profession, as well as continue to explore with the relevant bureau further expansion of the Vocational Professionals Admission Scheme to cover hotel management, tourism and hospitality related programmes.
 
On the other hand, the Government allocated $100 million in 2022-23 to subsidise the training and development of travel trade practitioners. The TIA will continue to utilise the funding to support training for travel trade and implement measures to attract more talents to pursue a career in the tourism industry and enhance the professional standards of the trade including assessing the manpower requirement for tourist guides, tour escorts and different job categories in travel agents through data collection, so that a more detailed and comprehensive manpower resources strategy can be formulated; supporting students of tertiary educational institutions to obtain a tourist guide licence; reviewing and streamlining the curriculum and requirements of the licensing examination and pre-examination training courses; launching a docent-to-tourist guide bridging programme and a specialised tourist guide licensing programme to increase the supply of professional tourist guides in the market; and engaging the TIC as a partner for placement opportunity and talents matching to improve talent supply and demand in the industry.
 
Besides, the Labour Department has implemented the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) since September 4, 2023, to alleviate the manpower shortage across different industries (including the accommodation services industry). Employers of the hotel sector may apply under ESLS to import workers at technician level or below to fill vacancies which they have genuine difficulties in recruiting suitable staff locally. As at March 31, 2025, employers of the accommodation services industry were approved to import 1 633 workers under ESLS, mainly for posts such as room attendant, waiter/waitress and receptionist.
 
On assisting the industry in digital transformation, the Government allocated a total of $70 million to the TIC under 2016-17, 2018-19 and 2023-24 Budgets to launch the Information Technology Development Matching Fund Scheme for Travel Agents, under which funding support is provided on a matching basis to each eligible travel agent. Funded projects include efficiency and productivity enhancement through big data, promotion of digital marketing, security of information technology system, development of mobile apps and website enhancement, to encourage the industry to make use of technology for upgrading and transformation, and to enhance the ability of travel agents to expand their business through information technology.
 
     The CSTB will work closely with the relevant bureaux/departments and executing organisations to actively alleviate the manpower shortage in the travel trade and the challenge of digital transformation, thereby improving service quality. This ensures that visitors get to experience Hong Kong’s zealous hospitality, thereby shaping a more attractive tourism brand.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, at the World Tourism Cities Federation Hong Kong Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit 2025 – Main Forum II: Hong Kong Tourism Development Forum today (April 16):

(Chairman of the China Tourism Group, Mr Wang Haimin), Dr Peter Lam (Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board), distinguished guests, friends from the international tourism community and fellow stakeholders,

Good morning. First of all, a very warm welcome to all of you to Hong Kong once again for this important forum dedicated to the development of the tourism industry. As the Secretary for Culture, Sports, and Tourism, I am truly delighted to see so many passionate and talented counterparts and stakeholders from tourism related industries, home and away, gathered here today with the common goal of enhancing the vibrancy and sustainability of Hong Kong’s tourism development.

For decades, Hong Kong has captivated the world as a premier travel destination. With concerted effort of the Government and our industry partners, Hong Kong’s tourism industry put up a strong comeback after the pandemic in 2023 and sustained with rising momentum in 2024, seeing a 31 per cent growth year-on-year in visitor arrivals. Stepping into the first quarter in 2025, we continued with an encouraging performance, welcoming over 12 million visitors, which represents a year-on-year increase of 9 per cent.

A bright future of tourism development does not lie with increased visitor arrival numbers though. With the advancement in digital technology and changing consumer preferences under the global tourism landscape, we must embrace innovation and adapt our offerings to maintain our competitive edge. We must also be clear about Hong Kong’s uniqueness and positioning in order to emerge stronger for future challenges.

With this in mind, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau promulgated in December last year the second Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry – we call it Blueprint 2.0, setting out our vision and mission for the next five-year period from 2025 to 2030.

Blueprint 2.0 proposes four major development strategies and 133 measures that span every facet of the industry including product development, visitor source expansion, smart tourism and service enhancement.

With Blueprint 2.0 and the strong support from the Central People’s Government in Beijing, I pledge to lead my team to strengthen ties and collaboration with stakeholders both within and outside the Government to implement Blueprint 2.0. I shall also empower and assist our trade practitioners to unleash Hong Kong’s tourism offerings in full.

Tourism is a fast-moving and ever-changing landscape. The spirit of “steering changes” in Blueprint 2.0 is a key to meeting challenges ahead and seizing opportunities for growth. I encourage stakeholders to break out from the boundaries of previous endeavours, even old patterns of success. Let us be bold to come out of our comfort zones and embrace new innovation and technology, and bring out new proposals that can inject fresh impetus into Hong Kong’s tourism industry.

Today’s forum offers great opportunity for putting our heads together for the future of Hong Kong’s tourism industry. Hong Kong’s hosting of this year’s Fragrant Hills Summit also showcases our strategic advantages in fostering deeper international exchanges and co-operation in the area of tourism development, and in bringing together industry leaders worldwide for fruitful deliberation and swift actions. I look forward to writing the next chapter of Hong Kong’s tourism story – one filled with innovation, resilience and boundless opportunities, with all of you.

Thank you.