Go to Japan to escape tourists

The number of Hongkongers visiting Japan reaches all-time highs: 2.7 million in 2024, up 17% from 2019, and 285,000 in December 2024, up 14% from December 2023. 

Could it be that inbound tourism encourages the outbound variety? The more Mainlanders, Saudis, Eskimos and whatever the government attracts to Hong Kong (44 million last year), the more local people rush off somewhere else to escape hordes of selfie-taking cake-buyers clogging up their neighbourhoods. To make the circle complete, millions of Japanese must now head off to sunny Riyadh. 

The latest on desperate official attempts to boost visitor numbers…

Hong Kong may need to import halal food for all the Muslim tourists it aims to entice to the city, a minister said on Wednesday.

…Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk said as Hong Kong develops into a Muslim-friendly tourist destination, halal food could be brought in from abroad.

“Hong Kong may not have many Muslims, but we need to make a lot of halal food. There are many Muslim countries in Asean, and we can attract restaurants and import food from these nations,” he said.

So… Hong Kong has quite a few Muslims; there’s no problem in ‘making’ halal food – no special ingredients are required; there are two and a bit majority-Muslim countries in Asean (Indonesia and Malaysia, plus plucky little Brunei); and there is no need to import restaurants or specific foodstuffs from them (there are quite a few halal restaurants around). 

Strictly halal (ritually slaughtered) meat is sold in Hong Kong – there’s a butcher in Wanchai that’s been offering it for decades – but most Muslims aren’t too fussed, providing it’s not pork. 

Other government moves aimed at attracting more visitors from Muslim nations include encouraging hotels to set up worship facilities, and persuading taxi drivers to provide information in Arabic (why not Urdu, Turkish and Persian while they’re at it?).

What about providing worship facilities in taxis?

On the subject of Asean – Trump’s pick for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth answers questions about it at his confirmation hearing. (This guy is not the stupidest nominee: the one for public health is an anti-vax whacko, and the one for intelligence is pro-Russia.)

Throwing caution to the winds, Reg comes up with some hard-headed suggestions on how to curb the government’s budget deficit by freezing civil service recruitment and pay. No-one likes you anyway, you’ve nothing left to lose – go for it.