Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn on Wednesday said major food chains will not be given preference for new food and beverage facilities at harbourfront locations as part of an upcoming tourism project.

At a Legco meeting, lawmaker Benson Luk asked whether some land could be set aside on both sides of Victoria Harbour to build long-term catering premises aimed at tourists.

Linn noted that authorities have already selected four waterfront locations in Central, Wan Chai, North Point and Tsim Sha Tsui to run a two-year food stalls pilot programme.

“We hope that each location can have at least two food stalls... In the short-term, our goal is to invite operators through our partnership with WestK Enterprise Limited, which will send out invitations for expressions of interest. We hope that catering facilities will open at the locations I mentioned within this year,” she said.

Linn said WestK Enterprise Limited was chosen as a partner due to its experience in promoting culture and managing food stalls at the West Kowloon Cultural District.

“Besides catering facilities, we also hope to incorporate cultural activities to create a better overall atmosphere along the harbourfront," Linn said.

The minister also said she welcomes vendors and youth entrepreneurs to bid for the contracts, saying large food groups will not be given priority.

Linn added that the administration tends to set up catering facilities as fixed stalls but is also open to the idea of mobile food trucks.

Separately, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said authorities have been in talks with online travel agencies regarding the sharing of data to better understand tourist preferences.

“The so-called online platforms indeed hold a lot of data, not only about individual tourists, for example, people may book concert tickets through the platform. What are their choices? What are their preferences?" she said.

"We made initial contact with them and asked if they [travel agencies] can share such data with the government or the Legislative Council under a commercial confidential agreement,” she said.

Law also noted that the Tourism Board is developing a live travel map on its website which can distribute real-time information and provide personalised itinerary suggestions for tourists.