Regular fireworks and drone shows in HK to debut in May

Hong Kong's first pyrotechnic display will make its debut on 1 May, welcoming the Labour Day Golden Week and enhancing visitors’ experience in the city. Meanwhile, the first drone show will add appeal to the city’s traditional festive celebrations on 11 May at the Wan Chai Temporary Promenade.

Don't miss: 'Groups interested in sponsoring proposed fireworks show,' says HK's finance chief

This comes after Hong Kong’s finance chief Paul Chan said during the latest Budget 2024 in February that the HKTB will hold regular firework and drone shows over Victoria Harbour.

According to The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), starting in May, it will regularly present pyrotechnic displays or drone shows in line with mega events or festivals with different themes and elements. Together with the existing "A symphony of lights" (幻彩詠香江) multimedia light and music show, the performances will enrich the sensorial experience and enhance the unique appeal of Victoria Harbour, aiming to attract visitors and locals to enjoy the show in town.

The first firework display will stage on 1 May at the East Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade at 8pm, with the aim of capitalising on the Labour Day Golden Week and various consumption promotions in town, such as “Yau Tsim Mong Shopping Festival” (油尖旺購物節), to enrich visitors’ and locals’ experience and boost the city’s night-time ambience, and hence stimulating consumption.

Another two shows will be set up in June, with a drone display on 10 June and a pyrotechnic show on 15 June at Wan Chai. They come in line with the Dragon Boat Festival, which takes place on 10 June.

Dane Cheng, executive director of the HKTB, said, “The Labour Day Golden Week is a peak travel season for Mainland tourists. In light of the the waves of events in entertainment, arts and culture and traditional festivities in May, HKTB seizes the opportunity to step up promotions in Mainland and roll out pyrotechnic and drone performances of various themes to enhance visitors’ experience in town, adding icing to the cake to their journey, while inviting locals to enjoy together."

"We also encourage trade partners in different sectors to provide more tourism products and spending offers with a view to stimulating the economy and maximising tourism-related receipts," Cheng added.

Cheng said on a Commercial Radio programme that these shows aim to perform various functions apart from luring tourists. “We had the experience of organising the [pyrotechnics] last year, including the summer holidays and the winter festivals… and it was very well received by our local residents as well as tourists," he said.

“I do not think that just organising a pyro or drone [show] will draw visitors to come to Hong Kong for that purpose, but at least it would enhance the experience in Hong Kong, and make our night vibes better," he added.

On the other hand, the HKTB has encouraged trade partners to leverage various events and activities to roll out more tourism products such as harbour tours, pyrotechnic-view dinners and other experiences to encourage visitors to stay longer in town and create opportunities for other tourism-related sectors.

Running up to the Labour Day Golden Week, the HKTB has stepped up promotions targeting mainland markets to attract visitors to Hong Kong and encourage travellers to plan their visits in advance, including inviting media organisations from Xi’an and Qingdao to visit Hong Kong in person to promote Hong Kong’s tourism experiences, with stories published in April.

Other initiatives include inviting popular KOLs to visit Hong Kong to create travelogues for Hong Kong and share them on social media platforms, and distributing 16,000 discount coupons of HK$200 each to visitors through online and physical travel agents.

HKTB is also partnering with online travel agents in the mainland and promoting new ways to explore Hong Kong during the Golden Week, such as City Walk, immersive green tourism and nightlife and major city happenings in April and May through travel tips and eCommerce live streaming, driving sales of relevant tourism products.

Join us this coming 26 June for Content360 Hong Kong, a one-day-two-streams extravaganza under the theme of "Content that captivates". Get together with our fellow marketers to learn about AI in content creation, integration of content with commerce and cross-border targeting, and find the recipe for success within the content marketing world!

Related articles:

HKTB invites Weasley twins to explore HK and promote HK Sevens
HKTB promotes 'Arts in Hong Kong' in full force with year-round events
HKTB invites mainland KOLs to HK every week to lure Chinese tourists