Hong Kong protests take toll on city’s tourism workers as earnings slump 74 per cent on average over past two months

The summer boom for Hong Kong’s tourism industry has turned into a chilly winter of unemployment and economic hardship described as worse than the 2003 Sars outbreak by trade unions, as two months of worsening civil unrest take their toll.

Average earnings for tourism workers plunged by 74 per cent in June and July, while the number of tours in the city also fell 74 per cent on average during the same period year on year, affecting an estimated 99 per cent of workers in the industry, according to a survey released on Monday.

“The impact is even more severe than the 2003 Sars outbreak, because at least the whole of society was united in combating the public health crisis back then. With the recent protests, society is riven with divisions and we really don’t see an end in sight,” said Paul Lau Chun-yuen, president of the Hong Kong Tour Escorts General Union.

Street protests and violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters have entered their tenth week, centring on opposition to the now-shelved extradition bill, which would have allowed transfers of criminal suspects to mainland China.

On Monday, black-clad protesters staged another mass sit-in at Hong Kong International Airport for the fourth day in a row, which disrupted the travel plans of tourists and forced the Airport Authority to ground all flights out of the city from 4pm onwards.