Coronavirus: tables tougher to come by as ‘revenge spending’ drives bookings bounceback at Hong Kong restaurants, insiders say

Numerous food and beverage sector figures say reservations are about 80 per cent of pre-Covid-19 numbers, with Father’s Day expected to be packed

But long-term questions for the industry remain amid rising unemployment and ongoing absence of tourists

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A restaurant at the Pacific Place mall is packed at lunchtime as social-distancing measures continue to relax in Hong Kong. Photo: May Tse

Published: 8:00am, 19 Jun 2020Updated: 2:16pm, 19 Jun 2020

Buoyed by a “revenge spending” binge by consumers eager to resume normal life, Hong Kong’s battered food and beverage sector has recently seen restaurant bookings rebound to 80 per cent of pre-coronavirus numbers, even before Friday’s latest relaxation of social-distancing rules, industry figures have said.

But those same insiders caution that longer-term issues, including rising unemployment and a lack of inbound tourists, mean those gains could be precarious.

Simon Wong Kit-lung, who runs a 38-outlet restaurant chain and serves as chairman of the Hong Kong Japanese Food and Cuisine Association, was among those saying the industry was seeing reservations at about 80 per cent of normal levels, even as it still laboured under limited-capacity rules.

Stronger numbers could yet be on the horizon, as the eight-person-per-table limit will be lifted on Friday, and the number of people per table at bars and nightclubs will also be doubled, to eight from four. A required 1.5-metre minimum distance between tables will still be in effect.

While Hongkongers still cannot travel, they can dine out, something restaurant industry figures believes has driven a recent spike in business. Photo: May Tse

“The worst is behind us,” Wong said, pointing to the nadir of March and April, when bars were temporarily shuttered and residents encouraged to stay at home – the closest the city has come to the lockdown conditions others have experienced globally.