Abstract
‘It’s an unbeatable combination of boats, beers, and cheers.’ With this phrase, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) marketed its top attraction for June 2013 — the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival, held in Victoria Harbour on 21–23 June.1 This annual event is certainly not the only dragon boat festival held in Hong Kong and in the world. Arguably, the International Dragon Boat Races held in Stanley Harbour in April each year are just as famous. However, there is little doubt that this traditional sporting activity has become an important part not just of Hong Kong life but also of the international tourism agenda for the Hong Kong government. In the past, Hong Kong’s touristic placebranding strategy has been ‘narrowly focussed on the hotel, shopping and dining-out sectors’ (Sofield and Sivan 2003, p. 12); more recently, serious efforts have been made to market other attractions, of which dragon boat racing has become one key element.
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Bridges, B., Ho, G. (2015). Contemporary Images and Identities in the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival. In: Merkel, U. (eds) Identity Discourses and Communities in International Events, Festivals and Spectacles. Leisure Studies in a Global Era. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137394934_4
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