Agnes Lam

Associated Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Macau. Poet, current affairs commentator.

Old streets, new perspectives

06 2015 | Issue 6

Eleven years after the death of the Canto-pop lyricist James Wong Jim, we can still feel his presence and influence on us. He is brought back to life recently by “Walk in James Wong: A Re-tour of Sham Shui Po”, a guided tour organised by Walk in Hong Kong. By visiting the places Wong grew up, walkers could see how Hong Kong changes over the years.


Though the walking tour is a little pricey, it is always fully-booked. The success of the tour suggests that guided history, culture, arts or community tours are of an increasing demand in Hong Kong, and they are already very popular in other parts of the world. What makes these tours so special is, instead of visiting major tourist attractions, walkers are brought to local mom-and-pop stores, alleys and housing estates, etc. to experience local life. The everyday life of the local community has become cultural assets with edutainment elements.


Some travel agencies in the United States have combined tourism and movie, one of the country’s greatest cultural assets, perfectly. Guided tours based on Hollywood movies are just a piece of cake compared to the tours run by Dearly Departed Tours, a Los Angeles-based travel agency. The company’s epic tour, the Tragical History Tour takes tourists to the homes and locations throughout Hollywood, Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip where the celebrities died. The Horror Film Location Tour and the tours visiting sites where some notorious murders took place are also popular choices. Tourists can also join the Ghosts & Legends Walking Tour to have a glimpse of haunting grounds and crime scenes, accompanied by talented actor/guide dressing up as one of the characters from the horror stories. Since 2012, the travel agency has expanded into retail business by opening the Dearly Departed Gallery at Sunset Boulevard. Visitors can find memorabilia of deceased celebrities and creative souvenirs such as keychains of haunted hotel rooms.


Across the Atlantic in London, some tours are fun with a sense of social awareness. Five years ago, a group of volunteers for the homeless came up with an idea of training the homeless people to be tour guides as no one knows the streets like they do. Thus, the Unseen Tours was established and offers unique London walking tours led by (formerly) homeless ever since. You aren’t going to see any slums but to see the great city with another perspective, and to discover street art and street cred. The business operation of Unseen Tours subverts and disrupts the traditional power dynamics by empowering the have-nots to take the lead and guide the haves, and thus make these two groups of people in the society more mutually approachable.


How about Macao? Tourism is the most important industry of the city apart from gaming. The historic centre of Macao is over 400 years old with rich cultural heritage, which is ideal for the development of creative industries and cultural tourism. The aforementioned travel agencies may provide Macao with fresh new insights into this. They are all self-sustaining cultural or social enterprises, without depending on charitable contributions and subsidies. The key to success is to combine tourism and cultural assets, and to include some social caring elements whenever possible, then present the city’s unique elements in creative ways.