Tourism

HONG KONG (Bloomberg): Hong Kong’s economic recovery is set for a fresh boost with the distribution of consumption vouchers beginning this weekend just as growth momentum in the city starts to steady. A report Friday (July 30) will likely show second-quarter gross-domestic product rose 7.8% from a year earlier, largely unchanged from the previous three months, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, a better reflection of growth momentum, GDP is forecast to contract 0.8%. Hong Kong’s economy is slowly emerging from a historic two-year recession spurred on by the pandemic and political protests. Retailers and tourism-related businesses have been hit particularly hard with borders shut, and the consumption vouchers are one way authorities are trying to offset that burden. "We have seen some recovery in catering and retail sales,” said Iris Pang, chief economist for greater China with ING Bank NV. "The cash voucher depends ... » Learn More about Hong Kong hopes US$600 vouchers will juice its economic recovery

CHANGSHA: Heated competition among Chinese tourist sites amid the post-pandemic May Day holiday has left a cool taste in tourists’ mouths. Though summer is still a month away, travellers at tourist hotspots are snatching up ice pops shaped like local landmarks or iconic treasures as a novel way to mark their visits. The trend was ignited when some tourists flocked to social media to post pictures of ice cream bars in the shape of two millennia-old bronze masks unearthed from the legendary Sanxingdui Ruins. The ice cream, rolled out by the Sanxingdui Museum in Sichuan province, boasts two flavours – “bronze” and “excavation” – which are matcha and chocolate. Other tourist destinations soon joined the social media carnival with their own offerings, from Wuhan’s Yellow Crane Tower to the Catholic Church in Qingdao. “I would visit these scenic sites just for these ice cream bars, ” a netizen remarked on Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, under a flurry of photos of the ... » Learn More about Scenic spots in ice cream competition to attract tourists