Hong Kong’s restaurants expect a modest 5 per cent rise in business at most during the “golden week” holiday despite visitor numbers increasing by a third over the first two days, as mainland Chinese tourists have tightened their purse strings, industry leaders have said.
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Hong Kong welcomed 567,928 visitors on Thursday and Friday, the first two days of the Labour Day holiday that runs until May 5, a rise of 33 per cent compared with 425,776 over the same period last year.
Immigration Department data showed that 195,875 visitors had entered the city on Saturday as of 4pm. That included 169,293 from the mainland, compared with 182,268 for the whole day last year. More than 298,000 Hong Kong residents departed for other destinations.
Industry leaders attributed the rise in tourist numbers to the multi-entry visa scheme for Shenzhen residents and factors such as more promotion of Hong Kong across the border and the city featuring as a location on some mainland television shows.
Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, estimated that the industry could only expect an overall 5 per cent rise in business despite the sharp increase in visitor numbers.
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“We can see large crowds in tourist hotspots such as Sai Kung, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok, with restaurants there getting better earnings,” he said.