(NBC News)- HONG KONG — In Hong Kong, it’s pandas, pandas, everywhere. About 2,500 giant panda sculptures are on display around Hong Kong as the Chinese territory hopes to capitalize on its growing panda population to regain its position as one of the top travel destinations in Asia.
Hong Kong has struggled to attract tourists in their previous numbers after three years of pandemic border restrictions and a crackdown on dissent following 2019 antigovernment protests tarnished the city’s international image.
Hong Kong currently has six pandas. Its reigning pair, Ying Ying and Le Le, had twins in August, when Ying Ying become the world’s oldest first-time panda mother after years of failed breeding efforts. The cubs could make their public debut in February.
In September, Hong Kong also welcomed a pair of 5-year-old pandas that were sent by Beijing, giving it the largest population of giant pandas outside mainland China.
The panda windfall has inspired Hong Kong officials to talk about a “panda economy,” encouraging restaurants and businesses to launch panda-themed products.
At a Dec. 7 ceremony introducing the two Beijing-gifted bears to the public, Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee, said there was a “craze for giant pandas” in the city.
The ceremony at Ocean Park, an animal theme park that has been struggling financially, was attended by top mainland Chinese and local officials.
Hong Kong’s economy is closely intertwined with China’s, and the recent slowdown in the mainland has been strongly felt here. Last month, Hong Kong’s economic growth forecast for 2024 was downgraded to 2.5%, down from 3.2% last year.
That is partly because tourism, a pillar of the Hong Kong economy, has failed to rebound.
From January through October of this year, the city received almost 37 million visitors, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, an increase of 37% compared with the same period last year. But that is still well below the more than 50 million visitors Hong Kong received from January to October of 2019, a period that includes the start of the protests. (Lee fired his tourism secretary this month.)
Mainland China continues to be the main source of tourists, accounting for more than 75% in October. But China’s economic malaise has curtailed spending in Hong Kong by mainland Chinese visitors, many of whom make day trips from the city of Shenzhen across the border.
Other ideas for revitalizing Hong Kong, such as the “mega-event economy,” have hit roadblocks as political sensitivities remain high. In February, the public was outraged when soccer star Lionel Messi failed to play in a heavily promoted exhibition game. Though Messi said he was too injured to play, fans and even government officials accused him of having “political motives.”
There are hopes that the panda campaign will go better.
“It’s really a sight to see for first-time tourists like me,” said Carol Lee Furiate, a visitor from California who had been to Hong Kong before but not the Big Buddha, a 112-foot bronze monument where about 70 panda sculptures are on display this month in the surrounding village and the cable car leading up to it.
Even for visitors enjoying the panda exhibition at the Big Buddha, however, there was skepticism as to how much impact such events would have on the local economy.
“After taking pictures, people will leave. Will they stay here to eat or shop? Probably not,” said Margaret Koon, a Hong Kong resident visiting the Big Buddha.
Donald Low, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said the pandas would not be a big draw for international tourists because they are “not something that’s part of the Hong Kong identity.” Mainland Chinese tourists, meanwhile, can see plenty of pandas at home.
Hong Kong should be trying to differentiate itself from other Chinese cities, Low said, and focusing on what makes it unique.
He said global tourism is also moving away from high-end dining and shopping and tourist attractions and toward “experiencing the city as locals would.”
“Hong Kong has a lot to offer in terms of varied, diverse urban experiences,” he said, adding that the city is “visually very stunning” and complex.
“I think people who visit want to soak in that complexity,” he said.
