HONG KONG: Whisky Live The World Whisky Festival Is Set For September 3

The world’s biggest Whisky Festival ‘Whisky Live’ will be in Hong Kong September 3.

Whisky Live Hong Kong 2017, organized in conjunction with Whisky Magazine, is set to begin ticket sales on 1 August for its one-day whisky celebration.

Whisky Live 2017 will be held at Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre (KITEC) on the 3rd of September 2017 from 1:30-9:30 pm. This occasion is a prime opportunity where whisky enthusiasts can mingle with world-renowned whisky makers, master blenders,brand ambassadors and drinkers!

The event will showcase more than 200 whiskies and offer master classes, concoctions from Hong Kong's premier mixologists, whisky and food pairings from renowned chefs, and a range of entertainment programs that feature a high-end lifestyle focus, including a stand up comedy performance, charity auction, and an art exhibition.

In hand with its partners, the event is designed to deliver unique experiences for participants. Highlights include the Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition and Glenfiddich Stand Up Comedy featuring Vivek Mahbubani, a bilingual Hong Kong comedian that starred in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2015.

Last year, 1,200 tickets of the debut edition of Whisky Live Hong Kong were sold out in less than a week as a result of strong support from local whisky lovers.

Whisky Live 2017 Hong Kong Programs:

- Whisky & Food Pairing Series

- Whisky Master Classes and Workshops

- Art Exhibition sponsored by Art Future

- Glenfiddich Stand Up Comedy featuring Vivek Mahbubani

- BACARDÍ Legacy Cocktail Booth at Whisky Live

- Whisky Charity Auction

- Tickets and Discounts:

Both Standard and VIP tickets are available. A complimentary Whisky Live Glencairn whisky glass will be included for each ticket purchased (Value: HK$180)

Standard Ticket -- Standard Price HK$380/person

Early - Bird Special HK$320/person#,

Early - Bird Group Ticket (Four or above) $280/person

Each ticket includes:

- General admission to the show with complimentary regular drams

- 3 Tasting Tokens (Value: HK$30@) for special drams

- Limited canapés.

VIP Ticket - Standard Price HK$980/person (Limited to 500 persons)

Early - Bird Special HK$880/person#,

Early - Bird Group Ticket (Four or above) HK$780/person#

Each ticket includes:

- General admission to the show with complimentary regular drams

- Access to the VIP Tasting Room

- 4 dream drams at VIP Tasting Room with the priority to order rare bottles at discounted prices

- 3 Tasting Tokens (Value: HK$30@) for special drams

#Early-Bird Ticket is only available until the 25th of August, 2017

*Additional Tasting Tokens for premium drams could be purchased at the cashier during the event. Number of Tokens required for sampling premium drams varies, depending on the whisky.

Event Details:

Event Date: 3rd September 2017 (Sunday)

Event Time: 13:30 to 21:30

Event Place: 6/F, Rotunda 3, Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre

Venue: 1 Trademart Drive, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong


Tourism Observer
www.tourismobserver.com

HONG KONG: Ivory Valued At US$9 Million, From Malaysia Disguised As Fish Seized In Hong Kong

Just when we've thought that Malaysian officials have managed to successfully roll back international ivory-smuggling syndicates using the country as a transit point, here comes a reminder that ivory smugglers remain relentless and continue to use the country for their nefarious activities.

Customs officials in Hong Kong discovered a shocking 7,200kg of ivory tusks, which had originated in Malaysia.

Valued at around US$9 million, it's the largest haul of contraband ivory seized in Hong Kong in three decades.

The shipment of tusks from African elephants had been labelled as "fish" and sent to the Chinese territory from Malaysia.

The elephant tusks were stored in boxes hidden under frozen fish. The 1,000 boxes were half-empty when we found them with frozen fish put around the ivory, a customs official said.

Local authorities have arrested the owner of a Hong Kong trading company and two of his employees. The trio are facing hefty fines and up to nine years in prison for violating Hong Kong laws that prohibit trade in endangered animals and their parts.

According to the conservationist group WildAid, as many as 720 elephants were killed for their tusks in this one shipment alone.

Let's reflect on that for a moment: hundreds of more elephants are dead just because people continue to prize items fashioned from their tusks.

These tusks represent the lives of hundreds of elephants, said Margaret Kinnaird, head of WWF’s global Wildlife Practice.

In the Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania, for instance, almost 90 per cent of elephants have disappeared due to poaching in the last 40 years with only about 15,000 remaining.

WWF has called on authorities from Africa to Asia to crack down harder on international syndicates trafficking in ivory.

The tusks' likely final destination was mainland China, the world's largest market for ivory.

Encouragingly, China has promised to end all illegal trade in ivory by the end of this year, but eradicating all trafficking in contraband ivory in China and elsewhere will be a daunting task given that poachers and traffickers routinely take advantage of a lack of law enforcement and outright corruption in developing nations from Africa to Asia.

Hong Kong itself has long served as a convenient gateway for smugglers into China.

Everything from shark fins to pangolin scales is regularly smuggled into the Chinese territory from elsewhere in the region, including Malaysia.

Hong Kong ranks as the 5th largest hub of contraband ivory in the world, and between 2000 and 2013, a massive 33,000kg of elephant tusks were seized in the territory.

This latest seizure is almost one-tenth of the recorded ivory stock (77,000 kg) in Hong Kong, WWF notes.



Tourism Observer
www.tourismobserver.com

HONG KONG: Growing Tourism In Hong Kong

There has been a sharp increase of tourists from Mainland China, due to the introduction of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) in 2003.

The tourism industry has been an important part of the economy of Hong Kong since it shifted to a service sector model in the late 1980s and early 90s.

The total tourism expenditure associated with inbound tourism reached HK$7,333 per capita in 2011. According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) Overall visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in 2010 totalled just over 36 million, a 21.8% increase over the previous year.

The numbers included approximately 22.5 million mainland Chinese arrivals, 8.2 million short-haul (excluding Mainland) arrivals, and 4.8 million long-haul arrivals. In July 2011 more than 3.8 million visitors arrived in Hong Kong, equivalent to more than half of Hong Kong's population and setting an outright record for a single month.

Along with the strong growth in the number of Mainland visitors, most other long and short-haul markets are also performing healthily with double-digit growth over 2006. Among long-haul markets, Europe, Africa and the Middle East took the lead with arrivals of 1,916,861, an 11.1% increase that made this Hong Kong's best-performing market region in 2006.

While facing increasing competition from Mainland cities and Macau, the Hong Kong Tourism Board works closely with authorities and trade to make Hong Kong an essential component in all combo and multi-destination itineraries.

Tourism, along with international trade and financial services are the three main sources of income for Hong Kong.

In December 2006, there were 612 hotels and tourist guest houses in Hong Kong, with 52,512 rooms. The average occupancy rate across all categories of hotels and tourist guesthouses was 87% for the whole of 2006, a one-percentage-point growth compared with 2005 despite the 7.4% increase in Hong Kong's room supply between December 2005 and December 2006. During 2006, 62.7% of all visitors stayed one night or longer, which is a trend reflecting Hong Kong's increasing importance as a regional transport hub.

The Tourism Commission was established in May 1999 to promote Hong Kong as Asia's premier international city for all visitors. A Tourism Strategy Group, comprising representatives from the Government, the HKTB and various sectors of the tourism industry has been established to advise the Government on tourism development from a strategic perspective.

== Top 10 most visiting nationalities


Rank Country 2016
1 China 19,044,388
2 Taiwan 3,455,618
3 South Korea 2,011,877
4 United States 1,022,444
5 Japan 1,009,666
6 Philippines 942,544
7 Singapore 877,022
8 Australia 655,088
9 Malaysia 652,038
10 Thailand 652,000

Almost any of the districts of Hong Kong can be considered a tourist destination. The following locations are areas generally marked as main attractions.

- Hong Kong Island
- Victoria Peak
- Victoria Harbour
- Star Ferry Pier, Central
- Lan Kwai Fong
- Soho
- Stanley
- Repulse Bay
- Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum
- Ocean Park Hong Kong

Including New Kowloon

- Hong Kong Art Museum
- Avenue of Stars
- Clock Tower
- Chungking Mansions
- Hong Kong Cultural Centre
- Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre
- Hong Kong History Museum
- Hong Kong Science Museum
- Hong Kong International Hobby and Toy Museum
- Sky100
- Hong Kong Observatory
- Kowloon Park
- Nathan Road
- Ocean Terminal
- The Peninsula Hotel
- Temple Street
- Ladies' Market
- Hong Kong Space Museum
- Star Ferry Pier, Tsim Sha Tsui
- Kowloon Walled City
- Wong Tai Sin Temple
- Chi Lin Nunnery
- Lee Yue Mun

New Territories
Including the Outlying Islands

- Che Kung Temple
- Cheung Chau
- Lamma Island
- Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
- Hong Kong Heritage Museum
- Hong Kong Railway Museum
- Hong Kong Wetland Park
- Ngong Ping 360
- Ping Shan
- Tai O
- Tian Tan Buddha
- Ting Kau Bridge
- Tsing Ma Bridge
- Tung Chung Fort

To facilitate entry of visitors, various measures were introduced in 2002. The quota of the Hong Kong Tour Group Scheme of Mainland visitors has been abolished since January 2002. The number of Mainland travel agents authorised to organise such tours has also increased significantly.

Nationals from some 170 countries can visit Hong Kong visa free for period from seven days to 180 days. The Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) was introduced on 28 July 2003. The Scheme has been gradually extended and now covers Guangdong province, Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Tianjin and nine cities in Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

In 2006, over 6.6 million Mainland citizens travelled to Hong Kong under the IVS, which is 20.2% more than 2005.

The HKTB continues to promote the destination to business and leisure travellers through its worldwide "Hong Kong – Live it, Love it!" campaign. Leveraging on the opening of several new attractions from 2005 onwards, the HKTB has designated 2006 as "Discover Hong Kong Year".

The global marketing campaign makes use of a series of strategic promotions to showcase the new image of Hong Kong and promote it as a "must-visit" destination in 2006. The HKTB began its travel trade promotion in May 2005 and rolled out the consumer promotions worldwide in late 2005. Aloagreement, a series of joint overseas marketing initiatives is being conducted with Macau and the nine provincial tourism bureaus concerned.

In the years up to till 2012, the number of anchor babies in Hong Kong had been increasing.Pregnant mainland women seeking to give birth in Hong Kong, specifically to benefit from the right of abode.Their parents came from mainland to give birth in Hong Kong, which resulted in their children gaining the right to abode and enjoy social welfare in the city.

Hong Kong citizens expressed concerns that the pregnant women and anchor babies put heavier burden on Hong Kong's medical system. Some of them even called mainlanders "locusts" which take away Hong Kong's resources from locals. Over 170,000 new births where both parents were mainlanders between 2001 and 2011,of which 32,653 were born in 2010.

CY Leung's first public announcement on policy as Chief Executive-elect was to impose a 'zero' quota on mainland mothers giving birth in Hong Kong. Leung further underlined that those who did may not be able to secure the right of abode for their offspring in Hong Kong.

Since 2012, there have been more mainland parallel traders coming to the northern parts of Hong Kong to import goods and export them back to mainland, which earns them some money for each transfer. Some products that are popular among these traders, such as infant formula, faced shortage in Hong Kong for an extended time as a result.

This made the government impose restrictions on the amount of milk powder exports from Hong Kong.Besides, since northern places like Sheung Shui became the transaction centres of the traders, this resulted in discontent from nearby residents.

HONG KONG: UBER, Do Not Undermine Our Monopolies,Or We Will Shut You Down

The arrests signal and symbolise what the Hong Kong government really thinks of technology: write all the apps you wish but do not undermine any of our monopolies. Or we will shut you down.

The taxi driver whipped out a tired-looking placard and reminded me of yet another regular increase in local taxi fares.

I paid cash, without complaining, for another uncomfortable ride in a dilapidated taxi that does not take credit, debit or stored-value cards and devices – in the 21st century.

It was like an existential scene out of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, where the loser-hero cannot understand the senselessness of the situation.

But there is a darker, more ignorant and sinister conspiracy against technology development in Hong Kong.

Technology is only supported if you do not threaten traditional, entrenched industries in the city – no matter what service improvements you offer for the general public.

Last week, 22 Uber drivers were arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of driving without a permit to operate a hired car and without third-party insurance during a three-week undercover police operation that ended with a series of raids across the city.

It certainly was a priority because it was the biggest operation of its kind, according to a report that cited police insiders.

They said the crackdown was “necessary” because a March court ruling against the city’s controversial online car-hailing service failed to discourage drivers from joining Uber.

It could have been worse. At least Hong Kong’s Uber drivers were not beaten up and forced to witness their cars torched like the ones in Paris.

However, this perverse campaign makes Hong Kong look exceedingly foolish, backward and hypocritical as it tries to market itself as a technology hub and gateway to the China technology market, where ride-sharing apps thrive.

InvestHK, the government’s foreign investment arm, is unable to explain how it assisted the establishment of Uber in Hong Kong, only to silently stand aside while Uber is persecuted like an international criminal organisation.

Then, our Innovation and Technology Bureau is simply mute in the face of the government’s attack on one of the world’s leading technology start-ups.

The mandate of the bureau is: We aim to develop Hong Kong into a knowledge-based economy and an innovation hub for technology and its application in the region.

To do this, it will strengthen support for the innovation and technology sector; facilitate the development of the information and communications technology industry, encourage commercialisation of research and development results, among others.

Uber Hong Kong, founded in mid-2014, has so far served one million passengers in the city using more than 30,000 drivers, with 80 per cent of them working as part-timers.

It certainly represents a proven and commercialised business suitable for Hong Kong.

Instead, we must witness the shameless protection of an old industry and a decrepit business model against innovative technology that threatens an existing monopoly.

Entrenched interests have persuaded the government to purge a clear and present business threat.

Disintermediation always causes pain among the established order, which will resist at all costs to public benefit.

While other major metropolitan areas have found a way to work Uber’s services into the insurance regime, the Hong Kong government has procrastinated for more than two years.

But worst of all, it signals and symbolises what the Hong Kong government really thinks of technology: write all the apps you wish but do not undermine any of our monopolies. Or we will shut you down.

All the glossy promotion about the city’s commitment to financial technology and other start-ups is only a shallow public relations campaign of the most cynical order.

HONG KONG: Sorry Uber, There Is No More Hope In Hong Kong

Embattled car-hailing firm Uber is seeking talks with Hong Kong’s incoming leader in the hope of securing a formal regulatory framework for its operations.

Car-hailing giant is up against a speculative lobby that has close links to government and that stands to lose HK$120b from any reform of the city’s taxi business.

Don’t bother, Uber. This is one you cannot win. You are up against a speculative lobby that has close links to government and that stands to lose HK$120 billion (US$15.4 billion) from any reform of the city’s taxi business.

It’s too bad, really, because with one single reform we could make Hong Kong taxis a model for the world with lower fares, better paid and happier drivers, better cars and all the latest in ride hailing apps, in short everything we want from our taxis.

This reform is to abolish a ceiling, in place for more than 20 years, of a maximum just over 18,000 taxi licences and make these licences available in future to every car that meets the operating standards we impose for taxis and every driver who qualifies to drive one.

We can even raise these standards if we wish. In fact it might be a good idea. But the key reform will be that if you want a taxi licence for your car you will be entitled to one for a nominal fee if your car meets the required standards.

The number of taxis on the road will no longer be limited by administrative fiat.

That’s it. That’s all we need to do. And it will never happen.

The reason is that by controlling both the number of taxi licences and the fares that taxis can charge, our government has created a distortion in the taxi market.

At present fare levels, taxi drivers would be able to take home about HK$25,000 a month, which is much more than the present standard wage level for a semi-skilled worker and would ordinarily attract a flood of workers to the trade.

Taxi licence owners take the view that the right to receive two payments a day of up to HK$440 for the use of a taxi is at present worth HK$7 million.

That’s the price level at which these licences now trade.

But few drivers these days own their own taxis. They cannot afford them. The car itself costs only about HK$250,000 but the licence to use one as a taxi can only be had by buying one from someone else at a present market cost of about HK$7 million.

Because each and every hired driver must pay up to HK$440 per 10-hour shift to the owner of the taxi he drives. That HK$7 million is the capitalised value of the income stream at the present low yield rate of HK dollar financial assets.

Put another way, taxi licence owners take the view that the right to receive two payments a day of up to HK$440 for the use of a taxi is at present worth HK$7 million. That’s the price level at which these licences now trade.

And 18,000 licences at HK$7 million apiece gives you a combined value of HK$126 billion. But we’ll round it down to HK$120 billion.

Meantime the taxi driver is back to earning the standard semi-skilled wage in the region of HK$10,000 a month while you are charged almost double what you really need to pay for a taxi ride and Uber has no chance of breaking into the taxi market without having its drivers regularly arrested.

Not only are the taxi owners generally patriots who would have the ear of Beijing if their speculative investment were ever threatened but, with the skewed voting arrangements common to functional constituency seats in the Legislative Council, they have absolute control of the key Transport seat.

The scandal is that they do nothing for their HK$7 million per licence. It is pure speculation, the result of a government induced anomaly in the market.

And we could get rid of it tomorrow by abolishing limits to the number of taxi licences.

All the reforms we want would quickly follow. Even Uber might then find itself falling behind the trends in ride hailing.

But it would mean wiping out HK$120 billion of speculative assets that contribute nothing to our economy and our government will never allow this.

It is simply too connected to the speculators. That’s the failing of our form of government.

So Uber, simply forget, you have no hope.