TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Hong Kong is one of the go-to travel destinations for tourists from Indonesia. The country has many spectacular attractions, including Disneyland Hong Kong and World of Frozen, the world's first Frozen-themed theme park. There is also the Madame Tussauds Museum which contains wax figures of popular world figures, some of them from Indonesia.

According to data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), there were 252,000 tourists from Indonesia throughout 2023, equivalent to 56 percent of the number of visits before the pandemic. This figure is expected to increase, especially since there was a 101 percent hike in Indonesian tourists in Hong Kong in February compared to the same period the previous year.

Muslim Friendly Tourism

Hong Kong is developing Muslim-friendly tourism to attract more Indonesian tourists. With a population of 270 million, most of whom are Muslims, Indonesia will be an important tourist segment for Hong Kong.

Liew Chia Jia, Regional Director of South East Asia HKTB, said on Wednesday that they are excited to enhance travelers' experience in Hong Kong through Muslim-friendly initiatives as well as initiate strategic partnerships with tourism industry partners to reach Indonesian consumers.

As a Muslim-friendly tourist destination, Hong Kong also needs to develop halal food outlets. Currently, there are a total of 163 halal-certified outlets, 105 of which are food and beverage. The number will continue to grow.

Expanding tourism segment to Gen Z

In addition to Muslim tourists, Hong Kong is also expanding its target market. They create tourism campaigns for the Gen Z segment through platforms such as TikTok. The campaigns include TikTok Trip to Hong Kong and Throwback Campaign in collaboration with Indonesian key opinion leaders or KOLs such as Canny Claudia, Yuda Bustara, Lusia Angelin, Tiffani Jolie, Ucita Pohan, and Marischka Prudence.

They also made improvements to attractions such as the A Symphony of Lights light show, Clockenflap and Creamfield Hong Kong music festivals, the Winterfest Christmas festival, and a series of arts programs in April. These attractions are aimed at millennial and Gen Z tourists.

MILA NOVITA

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