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The “Seaside Stories” tour of Ho Ho Go features coastal heritages in Shau Kei Wan

Hong Kong is a unique travel destina- his are still growing under the main- in-depth research
tion with great potentials to develop stream current. and look for lo-
ecotourism. cal stories. Ac-
Around 40 per cent of land in Hong Kong stories cording to Ho,
Hong Kong is designated as country Ling Ho, who finds travelling ex- it is difficult
parks or special areas with rich diver- perience in Hong Kong unappealing to employ and
sity of flora and fauna – and all these and uninspiring, founded Ho Ho Go train a guide who
are just a doorstep away from urban Experience Limited in 2014 to explore fits the job. They
areas. “The contrast, to have a big city, the niche market of cultural tourism. need to keep on Ling Ho
and right next to the big city, not just She thinks the local tourism industry developing new routes to avoid their
like one little country park, but so in Hong Kong is monopolised by a ideas being copied by other operators.
much terrain with it,” Mackay says. few large travel agencies. “Nowadays everyone claims they are
“It’s beautiful…[there is] a variety of Her agency organises tailor-made offering cultural tours, but the quality
things you can do as well.” “life tours” which aims to show tour- is in question,” she says.
The ecotourism market in Hong ists the unique history and way of liv- Ho, similarly, finds it hard to
Kong is still in its infant stage. The big- ing in Hong Kong. Each of its themat- survive in the market when she just
gest challenge for start-up tour opera- ic tours tells stories of Hong Kong’s started as a small operator. In an at-
tors offering niche travel experience is history. tempt to gain public recognition, the
to “get on the map” and to be known To enrich their tours with mean- travel agency joined the New Tour
to potential clients, as the industry ingful stories, the team has to conduct Product Development Scheme under
is highly “review-driven”. Websites
and online review platforms like Tri-
pAdvisor are important channels for
brand building and marketing. Mac- Nowadays everyone claims
kay says: “It took about three years be-
fore we actually have customers.” they are offering cultural tours,
Their eco tours are most popular
among Western travellers and young but the quality is in question
professionals aged between 25 and
35, according to his experience in the
trade. Alternative tour operators like