Big bet on horse-race tourism

Michael Shum

The Hong Kong Jockey Club and China Travel Service have signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen their collaboration in promoting horse-racing tourism, cultural exchange and youth development.

HKJC said the memorandum aims to promote tourism in the Greater Bay Area, help Hong Kong consolidate its position as an international tourism hub, and facilitate youth development and exchange between the city and the mainland.

Taking advantage of the club's leading position in international racing and world-class event-organizing experience and racecourse resources in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, the club and China Travel Service agreed to jointly promote horse-racing tourism under the memorandum.

Hong Kong remains Asia's premier region in horse racing, especially after Singapore's only racecourse - the 180-year-old Singapore Turf Club - closed down recently for redevelopment in 2027. HKJC said the state-owned China Travel Service will include the club's Happy Valley and Sha Tin racecourses as well as Conghua racecourse in Guangdong, which is set to host regular race meetings starting next year, among its packages.

"To further enhance the popularity of horse-racing tourism, they will also develop unique travel packages that integrate horse racing and related entertainment activities," the club said.

Apart from that, HKJC, being a prominent contributor to the city's cultural tourism, will also strengthen exchange and cooperation in tourism, sports and culture as well as enhance exchange between the Hong Kong and mainland provinces and cities.

Both parties will also cooperate to launch study tours to promote exchanges between Hong Kong and mainland youngsters, as well as explore opportunities to enrich outer island tourism.

This will be a milestone for the club's vision to promote horse culture and racecourse entertainment in the mainland, tourism as well as youth development in support of the national development strategy since being in talks with China Travel Service since 2023.

The club's chief executive, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, said the collaboration can further promote exchange and cooperation in tourism, especially equine tourism, sports and culture between Hong Kong and the mainland.

"It will enable Hong Kong to strengthen its international connectivity, as well as inject new vitality into the development of world-class tourist destinations in the Greater Bay Area."

He especially looked forward to welcoming more mainland visitors from next year to the club's Conghua Racecourse, where they will be able to appreciate the uniqueness of racing, via collaboration with China Travel Service.

China Travel Service chairman Wang Haimin said the collaboration is "two ideals perfectly complementing one another."

He added that the "New Quality Productive Forces Summer Tour" promoted by both parties is a "particularly successful example of a youth exchange tour and has been widely praised."

As Hong Kong transitions from stability to prosperity, "the prospects for this cooperation will be even greater," he added.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said she was delighted to see the cooperation in promoting tourism offerings with Hong Kong's uniqueness, including horse-racing tourism and island tourism, and enhancing collaboration across tourism, sports and culture.

"This would further showcase the appeal of Hong Kong as a world-class tourist destination and attract visitors to return repeatedly," Law added.

The collaboration comes at a moment when horse-racing tourism has been included in the development blueprint for Hong Kong's tourism industry as proposed by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.

It is also another move by the club to promote cultural tourism after conserving and revitalizing Tai Kwun as a cultural landmark and funding the construction of the Hong Kong Palace Museum to showcase Chinese culture to the world.