More shops and restaurants are opening during the early days of the lunar new year partly because they need to cover high operating costs, say retailers.
Data collected by the Hong Kong Retail Management Association shows at least 92 shop and restaurant chains said they would be open on the first day of the lunar new year, up from 86 a year earlier. Forty-eight of the association's 276 members surveyed this month said their shops would open from yesterday, the second day of the Lunar New Year, compared with 52 during the same period last year. Fifty-nine retailers said they would start doing business from either today or tomorrow, compared with 55 that operated from the third or fourth day of the previous lunar new year.
'Retailers have tended to take shorter Lunar New Year breaks in recent years ... because they have to pay rent anyway, they prefer doing business,' said Caroline Mak Sui-king, the association's chairwoman.
The Lunar New Year is one of the biggest festivals on the calendar and many shops are closed for between a few days and two weeks to let staff celebrate with their families.
Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades chairman Anthony Lock Kwok-on said the increasing number of tourists and higher operating costs, such as rent, were among the reasons that many restaurants stayed open.
'We also see more large events during the festival. This creates more business opportunities, so restaurants tend to shorten their holiday breaks,' Mr Lock said.
