Hong Kong restaurant revenues drop over Easter break as departures outnumber arrivals

A restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui on Easter Sunday.

Photo: Eugene Lee Hong Kong’s catering sector registered an estimated 6 to 7 per cent drop in business over the long weekend, according to an industry representative, as potential revenue gains from the 15 per cent increase in mainland Chinese tourists on the first three days of the Easter break failed to offset losses from the 1.7 million outbound trips by local residents.

Industry leaders also said on Monday the trend of locals travelling across the border and abroad during long weekends had become a “new normal”, leaving businesses to rely on mega-events and the coming Labour Day “golden week” to recover their losses.

Immigration figures showed mainland visitors made 331,517 trips to the city between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, a 15.4 per cent increase from the 287,201 during the same period last year.

Hongkongers have a five-day public holiday starting from Good Friday to mark the Easter and Ching Ming Festival this year.

By comparison, mainland residents enjoy only a three-day break for the Ching Ming Festival from Saturday to Monday.

Samme Cheng Pak-man, vice-chairman of catering trade body the Institute of Dining Professionals, estimated that revenue over the weekend declined by 6 to 7 per cent year-on-year compared with the same period last Easter, noting that the longer holiday period this year had encouraged more residents to leave the city. “Whenever there are three or more days of holiday, Hongkongers will travel abroad.

With their habit of heading to Shenzhen to spend becoming the new normal, it is only natural for the local catering industry to see a decline in business,” he said.

During the first three days of the Easter break, Hongkongers made 1.71 million outbound trips, a 6 per cent increase over the 1.61 million departures recorded during the same period last year.

Cheng said that while business for restaurants remained “decent” in tourist hubs such as Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok, there was a significant drop in footfall in residential areas, particularly in the New Territories.

He observed that smaller eateries gained more traction on social media than major chains, but stressed the government must promote Hong Kong’s international culinary reputation more aggressively to mainland visitors to maintain the city’s competitive edge. “We are all hopeful for a stronger performance during the Hong Kong Sevens tournament later this month and the Labour Day ‘golden week’

原文链接: 南华早报