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provide sufficient land for the development of Council facilities. Secondly, it will provide land for sale by the Government and bring revenue to the Treasury. Thirdly, it will enhance the competitiveness of the tourism industry in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is an international financial centre. Has the Government ever considered, with reference to the town planning of other major financial cities overseas, redeveloping the old buildings in the central urban areas into modern and festive 'fairgrounds' to provide venues for cultural, entertainment, catering and shopping activities, and to create a feeling of relaxation and attractive features to our bustling city, like the Faneuil Hall in Boston, the Fisherman Wharf in San Francisco, the Seaport in New York and the Asian Village in Singapore? The Council can, with reference to the aforesaid cities, consider the possibility of redeveloping the Central Market site into a building with modern design concept.
Thousands of office workers in the Central District need a place for lunch and relaxation, and residents in the Central also have to buy their necessities every day. However, being dilapidated and having become a wet-goods market, or even a wholesale market, the existing Central Market cannot satisfy the needs of the public. As the quality of life in Hong Kong is improving, this old market certainly needs to be redeveloped into a modernized, new and large 'food fair' centre with venues for cultural and entertainment activities, thereby attracting more tourists from abroad and enhancing our services to the people of Hong Kong.
From the perspective of tourism, this may add a popular tourist spot in Hong Kong and help reverse the downturn in the tourism industry. This industry contributes 8% to our gross domestic product and employs 12% of our workforce. However, in July and October 1997, the income of the industry dropped by 35% and 20% respectively when compared with the same period in 1996. According to an estimate made by the international tourist trade, the world tourist market share of Southeast Asian tourists, which accounts for 14% of the world's tourist market at present, will be increased to 20% in 2005. How can Hong Kong actively enhance its competitiveness then? Hong Kong has to explore ways and means to optimize the use of land and other resources presently available. In this connection, redevelopment of the Central Market site into a modernized sitting-out area and a modern fairground will serve a good and useful purpose. This can increase the numbers of popular tourist spots in Hong Kong too.
To further strengthen its position as an international city and financial centre in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong should, in the long run, put in place a well-weighed town planning to go with its metropolitan 'airs', rather than giving undue emphasis to revenue from land sales and the development of land for commercial use in a short-sighted manner.
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