Working with the Giant - Hong Kong's contribution to tourism development in China

When China started the economic reform process and opened its door to the outside world in 1978, tourism was one of the first few sectors that benefited from the foreign direct investment (FDI). Foreign businesses started entering China, which fueled a business-led travel boom in the 1980s. Tourism infrastructure in China was very poor at the beginning of this travel boom, which provided an opportunity for foreign businesses to invest. As one of the global leaders in tourism development, Hong Kong was instrumental in helping China to develop its tourism industry.This chapter examines the role that Hong Kong has played in the development of China's tourism industry over the past 30 years. Hong Kong has developed its tourism industry over a much longer period with huge success in terms of industry standards and management knowledge. In addition, Hong Kong is also closely connected to China and has a better understanding of the political, social and economic environments in the Mainland. Tourism enterprises and venture capitalists from Hong Kong were fast in entering China right after the reform started in 1978. The Jiaguo Hotel and Lido Hotel in Beijing, Garden Hotel, China Hotel, Orient Hotel and White Swan Hotels in Guangzhou were some of the successful examples in the hotel industry with Hong Kong investments.The chapter concludes that Hong Kong has helped China in shaping its hotel sector and facilitated the knowledge transfer to China, which has had a far reaching influence on the competitiveness of the tourism industry in China. It also suggests that the influence of Hong Kong on China's tourism industry will continue in absolute scale but the relative contribution compared with other parts of the world would gradually decline due to China's integration to the world economy.