Hong Kong’s finance chief has defended plans for monthly fireworks shows that would cost HK$1 million each and are intended to entice tourists to stay longer in the city.
Responding to residents in a Cantonese televised phone-in programme on Thursday morning, including one who suggested focusing on big-name concerts instead, Paul Chan said having monthly fireworks displays and concerts were not “mutually exclusive,” and tourists could schedule their stays around the fireworks.
That would entice visitors to “stay an extra night,” he said.
Responding to a caller’s concerns over whether the novelty of the displays would wear off due to their frequency, Chan said it would depend on the way they were staged and this would be left to the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
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