Shoppers flocked to the newest mall in town yesterday - but few were buying. The opening of Festival Walk, a one-million-square-foot, multi-storey centre in Kowloon Tong, went ahead despite the recession which has seen economists predicting further drops in consumer spending. Most of the visitors to the mall left empty-handed, with many admitting they had come to check out the new building and its main attraction, the Rainforest Cafe, a restaurant with a jungle theme. Husband and wife Calvin Kwan and Collar Yiu said they were cutting spending by 10 per cent because they could not be sure about their financial future. 'In the short-term, I'm sure the mall will lose money,' Mr Kwan said. However, mall developer Swire Properties tried to remain upbeat. Norman Chan, Swire's senior property manager, said: 'This mall has a lot of new attractions. Because of this, it will attract people to shop here, no matter what the economy is like. 'Based on market research, we expect one million to 1.5 million people will visit the mall in an average week - and that's conservative.' Many of the shops opened last month and some stores have already reported disappointing sales. Manager of men's outfitters Rudolph, Irene Tsang Siu-lam, said: 'Business is not ideal. The store owner has been calling every day checking on sales and he is not pleased.' Rita Chan, a sales assistant at lingerie retailer Private Shop, said: 'Business is not that good. It might be because the mall is still new, but it could be due to the layout. Customers have to walk up several levels to find us.' But other store owners remained optimistic. 'We never thought about pulling out even after the economy took a turn for the worse. 'We're confident in the location and in Swire,' said Philip Lai Tung-chiu, a director of luggage and leather bag retailer S. Babila Milano.