Chinese tourist spending in Hong Kong still on the rise
Rate of increase in amounts spent by visitors from the north may have slowed, but the figure is up despite the country's economic slowdown
"Spending [of high-end mainland tourists] in Hong Kong is not down. It's still up against the past quarter but we see the rate of increase is slowing down," said Angela Chong, a spokeswoman for the board.
Although the board did not reveal the exact numbers, Chong said that according to its survey of mainland tourists leaving by air, spending slowed a bit at the end of last year, picked up slightly during the Lunar New Year and then slowed again.
A visitor who spends HK$100,000 or more in a trip is defined as a super spender, according to the board.
"In the past few years, we have seen steep increases in spending. Although the increase has slowed a bit, in absolute terms, it's still up. The percentage is still very high compared with visitors from other regions," Chong said.
The deceleration can be partly attributed to the slowing growth in the mainland economy and a ban on official spending on luxury items for gifting in October last year.
E-commerce, although still quite a new sector, is also providing a new outlet for mainland luxury spending, competing with Hong Kong.