LettersManage tourist flow to Sharp Island for a better travel experience

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words. While the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department’s proposal for a Sharp Island marine park aims to protect natural resources, it falls short of safeguarding the local ecology against immediate damage. Simply designating a marine park without addressing a long-standing manpower shortage cannot curb non-compliant visitor behaviour like collecting marine life, trampling corals and littering. To improve enforcement, resources must match visitor volumes, with more patrols deployed during peak hours when the tombolo is exposed. While the government proposes establishing a marine park due to overcrowding around the island, it simultaneously and actively promotes “Four Peaks” tourism, with the Sharp Island Country Trail as one of the four featured locations. There is a contradiction here between conservation and tourism policies. To alleviate overtourism, we must address the root cause of the problem: visitor flow. On May 1, around 3,000 people landed on the island. Currently, about 50 kaito ferry services run routes between Sai Kung and Kiu Tsui or Hap Mun Bay. While these demand-driven services offer operational flexibility, is unlimited kaito frequency or passenger capacity still appropriate today and do the services contribute to sustainable development of the island? Besides regulating transport, we propose a comprehensive visitor flow monitoring mechanism. Installing a passenger counter at Hap Mun Bay to complement the existing one at Kiu Tsui Pier would allow the authorities to analyse real-time visitor data and activity patterns. Whenever local ecotourism is mentioned, we often associate it with objective environmental conditions such as overcrowding, ecological destruction and overburdened transport, and rarely discuss the subjective travel experience. But consider this: when we set aside a day to connect with nature, throngs of tourists can ruin the mood. Personal space is squeezed by excessive tourism; recreation time is cut short because services and facilities are overloaded; interactions with people become far more frequent than contact with nature. When a spot is overwhelmed with crowds, the natural escape becomes an exercise in endurance instead, pushing visitors past their psychological carrying capacity. While nature bears the consequences of environmental destruction, negative travel experiences linger in memories, especially for first-time travellers to Hong Kong. If we view tourism as a vital industry for Hong Kong’s future, then besides measuring the condition of the local environment, the physical and mental experience of the traveller must also be an indispensable key indicator. Teddy Law, senior manager, Parks and Trails Fire inquiry is not an exercise in apportioning blame Human disasters are the direct result of human failings. It is regrettable to see at the Wang Fuk Court fire inquiry the government trying to put the primary blame on private contractors and managers. How can there be executive-led government if there is no executive-led responsibility? The inquiry is not an exercise in focusing on apportioning exact blame between wrongdoers. Lax enforcement by responsible government departments leads inevitably to lax and poor performance (if any) by the corresponding private sector. One breeds on the other – it’s a dynamic situation. The situation at Wang Fuk Court was a disaster waiting to happen; and tragically it did. Alan Hoo, KC, SC and chairman of Basic Law Institute Never forget those who died in the fire As the dust begins to settle on the Wang Fuk Court tragedy, let us turn our attention to those people who lost their lives in the fire. We must think about how we can best ensure the deceased are not forgotten so as to contribute towards the avoidance of similar tragedies. Among the dead, the helpers should be especially honoured for their loyalty above and beyond the call of duty. The most significant way would be to have a memorial erected at the site with an appropriate eulogy. James A. Elms, Wan Chai Clarity on executive-led governance is needed In a local newspaper interview, Mr Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, former president of the Legislative Council, questioned what so-called executive-led governance really means. He said that under Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, lawmakers are entitled to cast nay votes and no one would say criticising the government is tantamount to violating executive-led governance. However, in recent years, he said, when some lawmakers made “harsher” criticism of the government, they would be reminded to respect executive-led governance. He asked for clarity on the matter, saying that up till now, there has not been a full and systemic explanation of executive-led governance. Mr Tsang was widely respected across the political spectrum in this city during his term of office as Legco president. His view might reflect that of many residents. Harry Lam, Quarry Bay