Entrance Into WTO Will Change Face Of China Travel
<B>Entrance Into WTO Will Change Face Of China Travel</B>
By Judy Jacobs
Two major developments--one a reality, the other soon to be--will dramatically impact business travel to Hong Kong: In May, the U.S. Congress allowed China to enter the World Trade Organization (BTN, June 12), while plans for the Special Administrative Region's new cyber-port project are in place for a scheduled late 2001 opening. Both will expand the number and type of business travelers that Hong Kong can expect to see in the future.
"China's entry into the World Trade Organization will be beneficial for Hong Kong, because business people will be passing through on their way to China. Also, a lot of companies--finance and those offering various services--will be based in Hong Kong," said Symon Bridle, general manager of the Island Shangri La Hong Kong hotel. "The WTO will bring in new companies that haven't considered China before. The initial phase will be people coming through Hong Kong and using it as a staging place. That and the cyber-port will help Hong Kong regroup," he said.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Cyber-Port is on its way. The project, a public-private venture being developed by the son of the SAR's best known real-estate tycoon, is expected to have its first phase in operation by the end of next year. While many question the way in which the project has come about, few in Hong Kong's business community doubt the need for the SAR to enter the 21st century.
In order to keep competitive, Hong Kong must move beyond light manufacturing, apparel, banking and finance and embrace new technology. The cyber-port is the way it plans to do this. Intel, Microsoft, Sybase, Hewlett-Packard and IBM are among the companies that already have decided to set up shop in the Cyber-Port, and are being joined by hundreds of smaller local software developers and other high-tech companies. Its location in Pokfulam, a relatively undeveloped area on the southwestern edge of Hong Kong Island, removes the high-tech business enclave from the hustle and bustle of the island's commercial north shore, where the Western, Central and Wan Chai districts are located. It also removes it from major Hong Kong Island hotels, such as Island Shangri-La, Mandarin-Oriental, Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott.
Although houses and apartment buildings are an essential part of the Hong Kong Cyber-Port plan, less attention seems to be being paid to transit accommodation. There are plans for serviced apartments to be ready in 2002 and a hotel in 2003, but most early visitors to the Hong Kong Cyber-Port project will be forced to stay on the other side of the island.
"In the short term, Western District hotels will benefit from the Cyber-Port, because they are the closest to the project," Island Shangri-La's Bridle said. Two new hotels, the Century Harbor and Island Pacific, have opened in Western District during the past year and more are expected to follow, though no projects have been announced. Western District is not only the closest area to the new Cyber-Port, but a part of Hong Kong Island attracting businesses that can't afford the steep commercial rents in the Central and Wan Chai districts.