Kai Tak transport woes make it a whine festival

Traffic jams and a change in location didn't deter the crowds, but some exhibitors at this year's Wine and Dine Festival say business was down.

The four-day annual opening event, which ended yesterday, was moved from the Central harbourfront to Kai Tak, near the cruise terminal, because of the Occupy protests.

Some 180,000 visitors had passed through the gates by last night - beating the total of 140,000 for the event last year, the Tourism Board said.

But distributor Bill Chan, who runs Billion Food and Wine, said orders at his booth were down 50 per cent from last year. "Some of my customers had to get dropped off miles away because the traffic was so bad, then walk for over 30 minutes. They also said the venue was crowded and they weren't in the mood to buy wine," Chan said. "If they don't improve transport, people aren't going to be in the mood to come here and enjoy themselves."

Free shuttle buses ran between the former airport site and Lam Tin, Kowloon Tong and Tsim Sha Tsui East train stations, and there was a bus to Ngau Tau Kok and minibus to Kowloon Bay.

Exhibitor Tomy Fong, of Hong Kong Royal Wine, said sales of his plum wine were similar to last year's, but getting to the venue was a battle.