Gov rolls out 4 new tourist hotspot projects, including KMB depot tour

The government has launched four new themed tourist hotspot projects including tours of the KMB bus depots, marking the scheme's second batch of initiatives. The Travel Industry Council hopes authorities could also streamline procedures for changing land use and lease conditions to facilitate the rollout of more distinctive tourism projects.

The four themed tourism projects cover industry, religion, miniature art and regional characteristics. Among them, industrial brand tourism includes visits to the depots of Kowloon Motor Bus, the MTR "Station Rail Voyage: Explorer" exhibition in Hung Hom and the Beijing Tong Ren Tang's Hong Kong production and research and development base.

The Travel Industry Council says they encompass some of Hong Kong's service industries, including KMB and MTR and overseas markets have already covered their industrial tourism in their itineraries too.

The first phase of industrial brand tourism was launched nearly a year ago, wooing more than 20 tour groups and about 500 visitors.

However, turning factory premises into tourist attractions behooves cutting regulatory red tape from land use to lease terms, as well as ensuring production safety.

Other signature tours include Madame Tussauds Hong Kong at the Peak which will recreate the "Hong Kong Miniature City Exhibition" with the addition of brand-new art exhibits. Further studies will also be conducted to use temples as the core, connecting historical buildings and heritage sites across districts to create in-depth temple cultural tourism routes. The project of the Seasons of Yuen Long will be rolled out to promote the district with different themes all year round.