Hong Kong is a Cool City

Image via Wikipedia

On the top was the Orchard Road in Singapore and the Avenue del Liberte in Luxemburg was ranked the second.  Paris’ own Avenue des Champs-Elysees ranked 16th.  On the bottom of the list was Zurich.

The main criteria of the survey were whether the citizens were willing to help tourists, hygiene and cleanliness of the shopping avenues, attitude and helpfulness of shopkeepers etc.  Mystery shoppers were sent to over 400 shops in 30 cities to judge the cities according to these criteria.

Interestingly, while Hong Kong, New York and London were once nicknamed shoppers’ paradise, they did not perform well in this survey. 

For Hong Kong, it was not surprising, though.  As a resident in Hong Kong I am willing to help tourists on the street.  However sometimes I think the tourists would like to find out the way by themselves, which is the greatest part of the fun for travelers on their own, and I tried not to disturb them.  However, if asked, I will be more than willing to point their way or even bring them to their destination.

However, most of the Hong Kong people are busy on their way and walk very fast, especially in business districts.  They may look cool and perhaps busily rushing to the next meeting and unable to spare time to help tourists on the road. 

And I admit that there is a lot of hard work required for the Hong Kong Tourist Board to make Hong Kong a more tourist-friendly place.  I can seldom see Tourists information with free maps on the road, which was so commonplace in most countries where I traveled to.

Also, street frauds and pick pockets are very common in Hong Kong.  As I have to protect my young kids, I will keep my eyes on my belongings and my kids even if I am answering a query from strangers.  I believe that I will appear very cool and impolite to these enquirers.

However, Hong Kong does not impose sales tax.  General shopping in Hong Kong is tax free – that’s the major reason for shoppers form mainland China to purchase luxury goods in Hong Kong.  Although most cities have tax refund facilities for foreign tourists, the procedures are often complicated and there is usually a minimum amount requirement. 

It was not clear whether the survey took into account the sales tax factor.