Traveler's Edition
A select few individuals in Hong Kong are giving the world an unique view of their daily city life through live streaming.
The dedicated streamers on the app Periscope have inadvertently become unofficial tourism ambassadors for Hong Kong. This is particularly valued in a time which has seen a drop in visitor numbers for Hong Kong.
Last month, seven “scoopers” visited Lantau Island to broadcast from various locations. People all over the world are fascinated by the local culture, food, public transport and bustling lifestyle.
One famous scooper is John Ho, an Entrepreneur (handle @Johnho) who has nearl 7,000 followers. He has been promoting Hong Kong and now receives freebies to encourage him to show his followers their attractions. People who have booked a flight to Hong Kong will check out live feed from that locations and get an idea where to visit when on their vacation.
Ho said, “I focus more on the cultural aspects of Hong Kong, anything related to traditions, interesting landmarks. What most people find fascinating is when I just walk the streets. When they see the tall buildings, the double-deckers, swarms of people crossing the road, visually that’s just very captivating.”
People prefer to use live streaming apps like Periscope as a way to ‘scope out’ potential travel destinations. They value the local’s live feed as an authentic representation of the destinations, and place more value on this than a highly stylized tourism video.
