Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk said a new government body aimed at developing tourist hotspots will hold its first meeting next month.

Chief Executive John Lee announced in his Policy Address on Wednesday the setting up of a Working Group on Development Tourist Hotspots, which involves at least seven government departments.

Speaking on a radio programme on Sunday, Cheuk, who leads the group, said it wants to develop projects that are inventive, attractive and feasible, and it's open to suggestions from the public.

"Hong Kong has a lot of resources for tourism, such as Victoria Harbour, food, films, etc. We will develop new projects involving the use of these resources," he said.

"For example food, you can see from YouTube a lot of tourists look for food in Hong Kong. This might be familiar to us but for tourists, it is very attractive. We can think about developing night markets, or building a food city.

"Hong Kong also has its film culture and natural environment. We can also consider developing new photo-taking spots."

Lee said on Saturday the working group will uncover must-see destinations across Hong Kong as it hopes to unearth hidden gems beyond Victoria Harbour.

Cheuk also said consumption habits of tourists have changed since the Covid-19 pandemic, and businesses have to think of new ways to attract tourists to spend.

"We cannot only complain about why tourists don't come here to spend. It's not that people don't spend money, there have to be places where they think it's worth spending money," he said.

The official said tourists are more demanding nowadays and it is crucial to find products that are unique to Hong Kong to attract more visitors.

Separately, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said he's confident his bureau will announce the Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development soon.

The CE said in the Policy Address that the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau needs more time to come up with the blueprint.

"We received a lot of opinions, and we made big changes due to changes in the economy. In this case, we hope to have thorough discussions with the Culture Commission, and there may be changes after that. We will also have to include good suggestions in the blueprint. We still hope to announce the blueprint as soon as possible," Yeung said.