Like many elderly residents of the New Territories, I frequently travel to Shenzhen for leisure, often using the convenient Heung Yuen Wai/Liantang Control Point. This is the best-designed checkpoint so far, offering the most economical option with a HK$2 ($0.25) direct bus fare for seniors. If you drive, you can simply park your car at the checkpoint and walk over to Liantang in five minutes! The area around Liantang is a relatively less densely populated and developed area of Shenzhen.

Given the severe shortage of elderly care facilities in Hong Kong, I often wonder if the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government would consider a pilot program in collaboration with Shenzhen’s authorities to acquire a piece of land in the Liantang area for a comprehensive elderly care village. It would greatly alleviate the shortage of elderly care facilities in Hong Kong, and I do not doubt that many elderly residents in Hong Kong, particularly those living in public housing, would welcome the opportunity to relocate there and vacate their public housing units. The location around Liantang would also make it most convenient for their children and friends to visit.

According to government statistics, by the year 2043, over one-third of Hong Kong’s population — approximately 2.6 million people — will be aged 65 or older. In my view, Shenzhen could play a significant role in addressing Hong Kong’s elderly care needs. This possibility should be considered in the upcoming Policy Address.

According to an official release, the number of foreigners visiting the Chinese mainland visa-free has significantly increased in the first six months of the year, as the mainland further opens its doors to international travelers. From January to June, foreigners made over 38 million trips to and from the mainland, representing a 30.2 percent year-over-year increase.

Hong Kong should capitalize on this trend to attract more visitors, boosting its tourism and business sectors, stimulating inbound consumption, and enhancing understanding and friendship between the people of Hong Kong and other places. One effective strategy is to leverage its location to design group tours of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, encompassing Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen and other cities in the region.

Hong Kong’s strength lies in its team of excellent English-speaking tour guides. These tours could be made more appealing by including visits to major infrastructure projects, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, as well as world-renowned industrial complexes like those housing Huawei and major robotics and automotive factories. These group tours would provide visitors from the Western world with firsthand experience of the real Hong Kong and the mainland, serving as an excellent means to share the success stories of them both.

Hong Kong should capitalize on this trend to attract more visitors, boosting its tourism and business sectors, stimulating inbound consumption, and enhancing understanding and friendship between the people of Hong Kong and other places

The Hong Kong Tourism Board should take a proactive approach in designing and promoting these tailor-made group tours. By partnering with airlines, hotels and travel agencies, they can offer attractive packages at competitive prices, supported by family-friendly promotional efforts in the Western world.

I am particularly fascinated by the recent full-house attendance at the Asian Cup qualifier football match between Hong Kong and India at the new Kai Tak Stadium, which attracted nearly 50,000 spectators. I am further amazed that thousands of Hong Kong football fans traveled to South Korea to support the Hong Kong team in the East Asian Football Championship match.

Promoting sports is always an effective way to foster a strong sense of nationalism. The HKSAR government should capitalize on this local sports fever by hosting a Greater Bay Area football league of 11 partner cities. This league would allow the Hong Kong team to compete against the 10 other cities at Kai Tak Stadium, attracting not only local fans but also supporters from the competing cities. This initiative would significantly boost tourism and local consumption.

Moreover, it would serve as an ideal training ground for Hong Kong football players, help to identify exceptional players in the most popular sport in Hong Kong, and even pave the way for Hong Kong to qualify for the World Cup final.

The author is an honorary fellow of HKU Space and the Hong Kong Metropolitan University and a council member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.