Planning for sustainable tourism in the frontier area of Hong Kong

Abstract

In 2006, the HKSAR government announced the Frontier Closed Area Reduction Scheme which reduced the restricted area in the frontier between the cities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen from 2,800 hectares to 400 hectares. The whole reduction scheme was completed in January 2016. A vast area with special ecological, cultural, economic and historical values was released. The government planning authority decided to introduce low-density tourism development in the frontier area. The study, based on the planning vision derived by the government, aimed to recommend strategies and measures for sustainable tourism development in the frontier area. Sustainable tourism refers to tourism activities which respect the economic, social and environmental balance in development. Tourist aspirations and the well-being of the local community are equally concerned in sustainable tourism. There is a rising popularity in the research topic concerning sustainable tourism and border study. Numerous literature is available for the concepts respectively. However, there are very little literature that incorporates the concept of sustainable tourism into the context of frontier area. Past effort in researching the possibility of having sustainable tourism in the Hong Kong–Shenzhen frontier area is absent. It is hoped that this study can fill this research gap. The overall trend of tourism development in Hong Kong during the processes in formulating policy-level recommendations for sustainable tourism planning and implementation for the frontier area is reviewed. Also, detailed SWOT analysis is conducted. International cases are studied based on the findings of the SWOT analysis. Site visits and stakeholder interviews are the major sources of first-hand information. Promoting sustainable tourism in the frontier area is challenging. The study recommends the planning authorities to respect the rural and peripheral context of the frontier area and to design institutional mechanisms for private-public conflict resolution and the creation of a synergy effect for development. Also, public engagement is essential during the processes of strategy formulation, plan implementation, evaluation and monitoring.