The Hong Kong Jockey Club has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Guangzhou Municipal Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau to promote horse-themed culture, sports and tourism in the Greater Bay Area.
The agreement was signed on March 17 at Hong Kong Science and Technology Park by Hong Kong Jockey Club Head of Mainland Affairs Ronald Chan and Guangzhou Municipal Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau Party Group Member and Chief Engineer Li Ruolan.
According to the source material, the MoU is intended to support Guangzhou's development as a tourism city while also strengthening Hong Kong's position as a regional events hub.
The collaboration is built around the racing tourism concept of "Two Cities, Three Racecourses," referring to Happy Valley Racecourse and Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong and Conghua Racecourse in Guangzhou.
The two sides said they will work together in four areas. These include policy support for racing tourism within Guangdong-Hong Kong and Guangzhou-Hong Kong initiatives, joint promotional activity online and offline, the design of tourism products linking Hong Kong and Guangzhou racecourses and industry support focused on talent development in equine sports events and horse culture promotion.
The source material also states that Guangzhou authorities will encourage tourism enterprises to work with the Jockey Club on "one-trip multi-stop" travel products.
Racing tourism is also set to be positioned as part of business tourism in the Greater Bay Area for domestic and international visitors.
A further milestone is planned for October, when Conghua Racecourse is scheduled to launch international-standard racing alongside a series of cultural, sports and tourism events.
The Jockey Club said Conghua Racecourse has already benefited from regulatory and operational measures supporting cross-border equine activity.
These include arrangements for horse movement and quarantine, and permission for Hong Kong or overseas veterinarians to practice at the venue.
The site also includes new retail, dining and visitor experiences intended to support horse racing and horse culture activity.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club's latest tourism and culture push follows its sponsorship of Lunar New Year fireworks and drone displays linked to Year of the Horse celebrations in Hong Kong and Conghua earlier this year.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club signed a framework cooperation agreement with the Guangzhou Municipal Government in 2021 to support Guangzhou-Hong Kong equine industry collaboration
