By Kelly Ho

Copyright hongkongfp

Night Vibes Hong Kong, introduced in 2023 to boost tourism and local spending, was only a “general term,” a government official has said after the initiative was excluded from the 2025 Policy Address and its website vanished.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law faced questions regarding the campaign when she held a press conference on Sunday to explain details of the policy blueprint delivered by Chief Executive John Lee last week.

The minister was asked why the campaign was not mentioned in the latest Policy Address and why its website had become inaccessible. The reporter also asked for figures on the effectiveness of the campaign over the past two years.

In response, Law said the Night Vibes Hong Kong campaign was introduced when the city had just returned to normalcy after the Covid-19 pandemic. With the opening of Kai Tak Sports Park earlier this year, Hong Kong is offering more activities to tourists and locals, she explained.

She cited one night last month when multiple events took place in different venues in Hong Kong, including more than 40,000 people attending a concert at Kai Tak, over 30,000 spectators at Hong Kong Stadium for the Saudi Super Cup, and another concert attracting over 10,000 at Hong Kong Coliseum.

Law said industry representatives and taxi drivers had told her that their businesses improved a lot when Hong Kong hosted major events.

“Night Vibes and Day and Night Vibes are very general terms. Right now, we are striving to have different activities to make Hong Kong a vibrant place day and night to attract tourists and locals,” she said. “Going forward, the strategy of major events and tourism will definitely continue,” she added.

The Night Vibes Hong Kong campaign was once billed as the marquee push to boost tourism and the retail and catering sectors when it was implemented in September 2023. Performances, cultural events, markets, and tours were hosted with the aim of offering “festive and vibrant” experiences along the harbourfront and beyond.

By January 2024, the campaign had expanded into Day x Night Vibes @ 18 Districts. As of the first quarter of this year, more than 60 events had been held, according to documents submitted to the Legislative Council in April.

See also: Silent night: Hong Kong tourist traps are empty, locals stay home as gov’t drive to revive evening economy begins

Earlier this month, pro-establishment party Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong urged the government to boost its “night-time economy.” Their suggestion prompted media attention on the Night Vibes campaign, which had gone quiet in recent months, and local media outlets discovered that the campaign’s dedicated website had become inaccessible.

In April, legislators asked Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak to disclose the cost of running the Day x Night Vibes @ 18 Districts campaign and its results.

Mak said the activities “created a buoyant mood” and feedback was “predominantly positive,” but she was only able to cite attendance figures for a handful of bazaars.

She also said the government was not able to produce a full expenditure breakdown because district offices ran events using “existing resources.”