Are Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay area cities attractive to university students in Hong Kong? Leading the potential human capital from image perception to locational decisions

Purpose This study aims to identify the perceived image of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities by university students in Hong Kong through both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the levels of familiarity and favourability, the characteristics of the GBA cities and the personal factors that affect the locational decisions (tourism, education, employment and migration) of the sampled students. This study also classifies both the students and the cities according to their perceived image. Design/methodology/approach This study, on a sample of university students in Hong Kong, investigated the linkage between their perceived familiarity and favourability of the 11 GBA cities using a questionnaire-based survey ( n 1 = 617). A follow-up, semi-structured interview ( n 2 = 32) was then conducted to qualitatively understand the underlying factors that determine the perceived city image and inform the students’ locational decisions. Findings Geographically, the familiarity-favourability (F-F) analysis indicates that Hong Kong university students are overwhelmingly familiar with and favourable to Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen. The 11 cities are classified into development-oriented, have specialized local economy, are personality-based and have a rich history and bring back nostalgic memories. From the F-F scores, Hong Kong students are classified into two main clusters of non-interested students and positive but unfamiliar students. The locational decisions of local students show a relatively stronger magnitude of favourability affecting all four purposes of relocation, an overriding preference for Hong Kong and the high determination of psychological characteristics. Research limitations/implications As this study focuses on Hong Kong students as a sample, a further comparative study between mainland Chinese students in the GBA region and Hong Kong could be conducted to extend the main findings of this research. Social implications The idea of “People-to-People Bond”, under the framework of the Belt-and-Road Initiative, and its socio-cultural aspect are emphasized as the key to transnational and regional policy success, which is relevant to the GBA region. The regional policies determine the movement of human capital and the interconnection of places for regional planning and development. The research outcomes correspond with the dearth of knowledge about the relationship between the characteristics of upcoming university graduates, their perceptions of GBA cities as destinations for varied purposes and their ultimate decision for relocation. Their interests and intended movements will exert short-to-long-term social and cultural influences to the region. Originality/value The promulgation and implementation of the GBA development plan for providing opportunities for tourism, education, employment and migration for mainland and Hong Kong university students. This research enriches the knowledge about the bottom-up and citizen-oriented approach in regional planning and policy formulation by advancing Govers and Go’s (2009) three-gap branding model and relying on an empirical foundation for these policy initiatives.