HK's air pollution is affecting its position as a financial hub and a tourist destination
HK's air pollution is affecting its position as a financial hub and a tourist destination
Ask any of the Hong Kong residents. There is no surprise to hear them saying the smog hiding Hong Kong’s once blue skies has been getting thicker over the last decade. Indeed, Bloomberg recently reported that air pollution in Hong Kong has been soaring since 2007. In 2011, the crowded state recorded 175 days of “very high” pollution– more than double the figure from four years prior. How is the declining air quality affecting our city? Is this going to put Hong Kong’s position as a financial hub and a tourism destination in jeopardy?
Deplorably, Hong Kong’s leading role in global finance is undermined with top talent driven away by the severe air pollution problem. Foreign executives, especially those with young children tend to move their families to places such as Singapore, which promotes itself as “clean and green”. This poses a threat to the development of the economic sector in the long run as Hong Kong is gradually losing professionals and foreign investment. As a matter of fact, American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, early in 2006, revealed that almost 40 percent of the 140 senior executives polled regard recruiting overseas staff as a tough task because of worsening air quality. Almost four in five said they either knew someone who had left the territory, or was thinking of doing so. There are fears that they might have to relocate to other counterparts, thereby making Hong Kong a less attractive place for foreign business to use as a springboard to the vast Chinese markets.
Apart from that the remain- high air pollution index is scaring off tourists. The environmental group, Friends of the Earth interviewed 129 tourist guides of late, including 101 from the mainland at The Peak, Golden Bauhinia Square and the Cultural Centre about their views on air pollution in Hong Kong. Nearly 50 per cent of the respondents were dissatisfied with the air pollution,
Ask any of the Hong Kong residents. There is no surprise to hear them saying the smog hiding Hong Kong’s once blue skies has been getting thicker over the last decade. Indeed, Bloomberg recently reported that air pollution in Hong Kong has been soaring since 2007. In 2011, the crowded state recorded 175 days of “very high” pollution– more than double the figure from four years prior. How is the declining air quality affecting our city? Is this going to put Hong Kong’s position as a financial hub and a tourism destination in jeopardy?
Deplorably, Hong Kong’s leading role in global finance is undermined with top talent driven away by the severe air pollution problem. Foreign executives, especially those with young children tend to move their families to places such as Singapore, which promotes itself as “clean and green”. This poses a threat to the development of the economic sector in the long run as Hong Kong is gradually losing professionals and foreign investment. As a matter of fact, American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, early in 2006, revealed that almost 40 percent of the 140 senior executives polled regard recruiting overseas staff as a tough task because of worsening air quality. Almost four in five said they either knew someone who had left the territory, or was thinking of doing so. There are fears that they might have to relocate to other counterparts, thereby making Hong Kong a less attractive place for foreign business to use as a springboard to the vast Chinese markets.
Apart from that the remain- high air pollution index is scaring off tourists. The environmental group, Friends of the Earth interviewed 129 tourist guides of late, including 101 from the mainland at The Peak, Golden Bauhinia Square and the Cultural Centre about their views on air pollution in Hong Kong. Nearly 50 per cent of the respondents were dissatisfied with the air pollution,