Last year's much-heralded opening of Hong Kong Disneyland helped add to the tourist figures, but perennial favorite Ocean Park continues to improve its attractions as well. Despite initial glitches, the Ngong Ping cable-car should also help keep the immigration gates turning at Hong Kong's land borders and Chek Lap Kok airport.

But twists and turns in the hospitality business come from all vectors: few places can compete with Dubai's new seven-star hotel, for example. Eco-tourism, adventure-tourism, scuba diving: all popular, none available in Hong Kong. And it's been decades since anyone climbed a Hong Kong peak to wistfully gaze at the then-forbidden landscape of the People's Republic.

Hotel systems

Hong Kong's hoteliers can't afford to remain quiescent in this volatile environment. "In the old days, the first thing a guest would do after they checked in was phone home," said Kenneth Rogers, executive assistant manager of the Langham Hotel Hong Kong in Tsim Sha Tsui. "Now, the first thing they do is get online."

Rogers said that his hotel recently replaced a legacy telephone system (an NEC PABX) that was 18 years old-positively Jurassic by IT standards. "Our priorities for a new system were a combination of factors," he said. "Our prime consideration was [providing] the technology that guests need-price was not our main consideration. We wanted to provide the latest technology and have strong support [for that technology]." Rogers explained that most of his hotel's guests are seasoned business travelers, aware of the current level of available technology in the marketplace, and expect a Hong Kong business-level hotel to meet those standards.