Magnus Bartlett found setting up a business simple and straightforward in Hong Kong

Travel publisher Magnus Bartlett has made verdant Lamma Island - a half-hour ferry ride from Central - his home for more than two decades. British-born Bartlett, who arrived in Hong Kong as a professional photographer and some-time filmmaker, went on to launch the Odyssey series of global travel guides - a division of Airphoto International Limited. He feels that Hong Kong has changed for the better in his time here.

"I arrived in Hong Kong in 1974 for a photo assignment. I was actually here en route to Japan, with no intention to stay for more than two weeks - a common story.

After visiting the Chinese mainland in 1978 for Time and Newsweek stories, I found there were no travel guides on the country - apart from 1,000-page pictorials. I saw an opportunity to 'recycle' my extra pictures, originally conceiving Odyssey guides as a vehicle for my own work. But soon found I couldn't grow the business and remain a photographer.

Registering and setting up operations in Hong Kong could not have been more straightforward. It's very user friendly for my line of work, with a host of good printers, colour separation, scanning and proofing operations both here and across the border in Shenzen, Southern China. I was - and still am - spoilt for choice.

Easy to reach global markets

My operations have not relied on Hong Kong as a primary market for publications - it is a city of around seven million, after all, where English is generally the second language. Hong Kong is magnificent for production but our main markets are the US and UK - each of which I have visited around 100 times over 30 years. It would be best for us to maintain front offices in those countries but we are too small to be able to afford this, so we work via independent reps. Our distribution is primarily through bookstores, with online sales accounting for just five per cent - but growing.

Besides production tasks there are other elements of my work that benefit from being in Hong Kong. A liberal tax regime and the fact that minimal paperwork is required are big plusses. I feel sorry for our competitors in European countries on these fronts.

Also, Hong Kong has wonderful communications, cheap phone and Internet rates and broadband is everywhere. This is matched by ease of travel. Travellers from Hong Kong have a huge choice of airlines, hence competitive prices for passengers. And it is perfect for doing business in the Chinese mainland with a host of destinations being easily reached.

Positive outlook

The signals are that Hong Kong's positive characteristics in my field will remain strong. All other things being equal, Hong Kong looks bound for steady growth. Bear in mind with this forecast that our primary focus as travel publishers is the mainland, and then its periphery.

I love living on Lamma Island and my reasons are simple. The countryside and the sea make for a series of beautiful landscapes. There are no cars on the island at all. I find general noise and air pollution from motor vehicles in many places intolerable nowadays - an 'age thing', no doubt.

On a personal level, I am more than happy to stay in Hong Kong for the foreseeable future. I'm certainly not planning to go elsewhere in the next 10 years, so that means I'll be 70 when I next consider the question. I hope to 'die with my boots on' in Hong Kong, that is to say, I have no plans for retirement."