Sustainable Tourism in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong
Repulse Bay is a fantastic location in south Hong Kong Island with a magnificent beach where many people come every day to have fun and to relax. Repulse Bay is set against beautiful, green rolling hills and it overlooks a bay with some small islands, for example Shoe Island, which is actually shaped like a shoe.
Today Repulse Bay has many apartment buildings but in the 19th and early 20th century it was very natural and green. It was a favourite place where the colonial people came to relax, away from Central Hong Kong. The first large property at Repulse Bay was a hotel called The Repulse Bay Hotel, which belonged to the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited during the colonial period. This hotel was not very big but it was an exclusive resort for both local and foreign visitors. Many famous people statyed at the hotel, including Ernest Hemingway and Clarke Gable.
Today Repulse Bay has multiple tall apartment buildings hosting numerous families. Tourism has increased a lot, both from Hong Kong itself and from the Mainland, who come in tour groups. According to the Environmental Protection Agency the water quality at Repulse Bay beach is very good most of the time, with Grade 1 but sometimes it goes down to 2. The Grade 2 water quality is recorded mostly during summer when many people go swimming.
Apart from the beach, there are several other places to go to in Repulase Bay. For example, on the western side there is the "Seaview Promenade", which is a footpath about 1 km long that connects Repulse Bay with another bay called Deep Water Bay. The beach at Deep Water Bay is not as impressive, but the walk there is relaxing and has a great view. ON the eastern side of Repulse Bay beach there is a large new mall near completion. It will have shops, cafes and restaurants and will attract more tourists and diversify them. At the far eastern end of the beach is the Tin Hau Temple (see picture). It is situated right at the water front and is a nice and peaceful place just to spend around 30 minutes.
Further down Repulse Bay, there are two smaller bays called Middle Bay and South Bay. They both have pleasant beach for people to relax. Unlike Deep Water Bay, these two beaches are not connected with Repulse Bay beach directly; they be accessed only by road, if you have a private car or by taxi, as there is no public transportation going there. The other con of going there is that there very is limited parking spots. Both Middle and South Bay have a small café bar where people can go to have a drink, or have a simple meal, for example a pizza.
For those who like more active trips, the hills behind Repulse Bay have some very scenic hiking trails, going towards the Wong Ni Chung Gap road connecting to Happy Valley, to the Tai Tam Reservoir, and to Stanley. The problem with these is that access from Repulse Bay is difficult, because visitors first have to walk a distance along the road to the start of the trail, there is no public transport or parking spots. The start of the trail going up from Repulse Bay is also very rough and is difficult for an average walker. Around 3km away from Repulse Bay there is a town called Stanley. It has two beached and has good infrastructure for tourism. For example, there are many restaurants, bars, supermarkets and shops, as well as an attractive sea front boulevard.
Repulse Bay Hotel in the 1930s
Seaview Promenade
There is only one way to reach Repulse Bay: by one single road. There is no metro line nor is there a ferry (Stanley has a ferry connection with Aberdeen). The road to Repulse bay is narrow and it is often congested. On the weekends there can be long traffic jams. Also when there are road works the traffic can be very bad. There is a good number of public bus lines connecting Repulse Bay with Aberdeen and Central. Taxi service is generally good.
Below is a map of Repulse Bay so you can see its position on the Hong Kong island.
Tin Hau Temple
Repulse Bay