Just one year after its opening, Kai Tak Sports Park has been selected by America’s TIME Magazine as one of the “2026 World’s Greatest Places,” the only Hong Kong attraction to make the list. The magazine describes Kai Tak Sports Park as injecting vitality into a once-quiet coastline after the airport’s closure, highlighting Hong Kong’s appeal as an international city for sports and major events.
According to Wen Wei Po, Yiu Pak-leung, Vice Chairman of Hong Kong China Travel Service and Legislative Council Election Committee member, believes that the internationally renowned brand of Kai Tak Sports Park can be combined with other Hong Kong attractions to maximize the brand effect. For instance, by launching transportation and one-stop travel packages that connect major events, hotels, specialty dining, and attractions into a tourism bundle, enabling visitors to come not just to “check in” but to experience in-depth “urban spectacles” in the city.
Yiu Pak-leung also stated that large-scale events and music festivals could be bundled with nearby hotels, specialty dining, and attractions to create tourism packages; for example, collaborating with exhibitions at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, such as the Egypt Exhibition, or launching exclusive programs for various festivals, or combining with Ocean Park and Disneyland to provide a complete travel itinerary covering the whole city. At the same time, synergy across the east and west coasts can be promoted, such as combining the internationally renowned sports and entertainment brand of Kai Tak with the arts and culture of the West Kowloon Cultural District, making use of the waterfront promenades and event spaces along both shores to convert foot traffic into spending power, forming a complete waterfront consumption circle.
This annual TIME Magazine list selects 100 outstanding destinations worldwide that are most worth visiting, covering cultural facilities, parks, and tourism landmarks. TIME Magazine points out that over the past year, Kai Tak Sports Park has successfully hosted multiple international-level sports and entertainment events, significantly consolidating Hong Kong’s status as Asia’s center for sports and entertainment. This international recognition will help attract more global travelers.
A spokesperson for Kai Tak Sports Park responded that this is not only a recognition of the park’s world-class facilities and diverse experiences, but also highlights Hong Kong’s attraction as an international city for sports and major events. In the future, more high-level sports, cultural and entertainment activities will continue to be introduced, bringing more exciting experiences to both residents and visitors, showcasing the vitality and charm of Hong Kong to the world.