Hong Kong has normalized being a part of a large country. Hong Kong gained a hinterland after 1997 that is developing rapidly. Residents travel to the Chinese mainland for business and savor its multifaceted attractions, many on one-day tours, thanks to the fantastic transport links.

Many Hong Kong residents traveled to the mainland during the Christmas and New Year holidays, while many mainland residents came to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong residents will continue to go to the mainland because it has so much to offer. We should feel good about this rather than see it as inimical to Hong Kong businesses.

We welcome mainland residents and others to visit Hong Kong, and we must strive to offer them a memorable experience unique to Hong Kong so they will want to come again. We must open more round-the-clock border crossings, after many visitors struggled to get back to the mainland after watching the fireworks on New Year’s Eve. On the other hand, Hong Kong restaurateurs and retailers will have to get used to locals decanting across the boundary regularly. Such competition requires constant improvements and adaptation to changes in tastes.

In the 1980s, Hong Kong residents were the first to take advantage of the mainland’s “open door” policy to invest in manufacturing and conduct business on the mainland. Traveling to the mainland used to be a hassle. However, travel became more accessible and easier with the continuous construction of cross-boundary transport infrastructure after 1997. Hong Kong residents’ neighborhood has increased quite dramatically. We now have a much bigger playing field. Traveling to the closest mainland city — Shenzhen — is quick and painless, and Guangzhou and other cities in Guangdong province are all within easy reach.

It is often said that Hong Kong residents shop and eat across the boundary because everything is cheaper there. This is true, but price is not the only drawing card across the boundary. The broader neighborhood has done an excellent job in town planning, design and urban greening. For example, Shenzhen has many pleasant places to stroll and ramble. Shopping there has also become much more interesting than a decade ago. The mainland now has many domestic brands, while the same chain stores occupy Hong Kong malls, presenting a monotonous landscape.

Plenty of cultural shows are held across the boundary for those who enjoy music, theater, dance and visual art exhibitions. While the cultural landscape in Hong Kong has improved over the years, having more of it within the neighborhood is a boon for residents here.

Guangdong has many stunning and well-organized hiking trails for those who like outdoor activities. It is easy for Hong Kong walkers and hikers to plan trips across the boundary, increasing their diversity of experience beyond our excellent country parks. Not only is there an extensive price range of accommodations, but there are also excellent hotels for Hong Kong’s discerning travelers with money to spend, making a staycation across the boundary coupled with a show and dining at popular restaurants enjoyable.

Food is, of course, a major attraction for travelers everywhere. Eating establishments across the boundary are clean, and many have appealing decor and tempting menus, making it worthwhile. Moreover, Shenzhen and Guangzhou provide many types of Chinese restaurants with a regional flair from the whole country, something Hong Kong doesn’t have.

The challenge for Hong Kong’s food-and-beverage sector is to adapt to the tastes and wants of the ever more demanding residents, Gen Z, who now have earning power; myriad Asian visitors; and large numbers of astute mainland visitors.

Hong Kong needs to know where it is competitive. We can deliver high-quality food because of a very demanding local population. Beyond that, people want an ambience that fits the era. Hong Kong’s food industry is innovating. Winners include restaurants that create varied moods coupled with menu mixes, stepped-up Indian cuisine from top-quality new establishments, cafes, teahouses, and new bakeries that always seem to have lines of patrons, and an ever-growing number of makers of original snacks and appetizers inspired by traditional recipes.

Hence, Hong Kong residents are now more like New Yorkers, Londoners, and Parisians who can leave the city over weekends and holidays. It’s more accessible and affordable for Hong Kong residents to take public transport to the mainland. For example, it takes only about three hours and 30 minutes, and a few hundred yuan, to go by high-speed train from the West Kowloon Station to scenic Guilin in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, with its tropical limestone landscape.

Give everyone excellent service so they feel the extra warmth and appreciate value for money across the affordability chain. We used to describe Hong Kong as “Asia’s World City”. We need to cooperate across government and business sectors to ensure that vigor and inventiveness keep transforming our city to be globally attractive

More people will drive across the boundary in the future, and more Hong Kong residents will have second homes on the mainland.

Heritage experience has proved essential to the mainland and its visitors. This is true the world over. That’s why Tai Kwun, The Mills, Palace Museum, M+, and other iconic cultural locations are great investments for Hong Kong.

Sports are another draw. Hong Kong’s competitiveness is that it presents events at an international professional level. The Hong Kong Sevens is enjoyable because the organizers have developed an outstanding formula combining sports and entertainment. The Hong Kong Open is played at the historic Fanling course — the oldest championship golf course in Asia, created in 1911. It is so unique that chopping a bit of it off for housing makes no sense when considered from the broader perspective of offering a variety of excellent experiences.

While the government and businesses understandably want more events to be held to attract visitors, it must be remembered that developing more attractions for visitors will inevitably also enhance residents’ quality of life, if sometimes indirectly. Our culture and heritage provide the foundation of the city’s uniqueness, which can be celebrated daily. It should be blended with awareness of changing international trends, tastes and a bit of edginess so that we are at the forefront of offering freshness rooted in our best traditions and capacity to surprise residents and visitors. Improving the cultural experience of residents will equally attract visitors so that they will return again and again.

The message is uncomplicated — innovate to provide variety to suit the changing demographics of locals and visitors. Give everyone excellent service so they feel the extra warmth and appreciate value for money across the affordability chain. We used to describe Hong Kong as “Asia’s World City”. We need to cooperate across government and business sectors to ensure that vigor and inventiveness keep transforming our city to be globally attractive.

The author is the chief development strategist of the Institute for the Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and a visiting scholar at the Los Angeles-based UCLA Anderson School of Management.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.