Early signs of life in Hong Kong tourism as mainland Chinese visitors return, but no boom yet for hotels, restaurants

The number of city residents taking off on holiday outstripped arrivals since border reopened fully
Industry stays optimistic, with hotels pinning their hopes on mainland’s ‘golden week’ holiday in May

Hong Kong economy

Cannix YauandKahon Chan

Published: 8:30am, 13 Feb 2023

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Hong Kong’s tourism sector has shown early signs of revival since the border with mainland China fully reopened a week ago, with more bookings for hotel rooms and attractions and increased footfall in shops.

But the city’s catering sector reported only modest improvement, mainly in areas popular with tourists, as the return of mainland visitors was outstripped by Hongkongers taking off on holiday.

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Hong Kong has seen a steady increase in mainland visitors arriving through all checkpoints since February 6, when pre-departure polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and a daily quota on arrivals were scrapped.

Tourists from the mainland are coming to the city, but the outflow of residents on holidays exceeds arrivals from the north. Photo: Elson Li

The number of overseas and mainland visitors almost doubled from 33,187 last Monday to 65,804 on Saturday, when 196,792 residents left the city.

Since February 2, the Tourism Board has given away at least a million spending vouchers worth HK$100 (US$13) each under the “Hong Kong Goodies” campaign to welcome back visitors.

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Hotels saw an uptick in business over Lunar New Year, but overall occupancy has since softened, with no clear sign of sustained recovery, according to Winnie Chan Wun-yin, association manager at the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners.

She said the industry had pinned its hopes on the mainland’s “golden week” holiday in early May.

Tourists shop in Tsim Sha Tsui on the first day of full border reopening between Hong Kong and the mainland. Photo: Jelly Tse

She speculated that more efficient transport links had given mainland visitors the option of going home after a day trip.

“The high-speed rail is so fast that they no longer need to stay overnight in Hong Kong. They can return right after shopping in the city,” she said.

Travel activities platform Klook, which sells tickets for attractions such as Hong Kong Disneyland and the M+ museum, recorded more mainlanders making bookings for city attractions from February 6 to 8.

A spokeswoman said it also saw a jump in hotel bookings and ticket sales for Disneyland and Ocean Park.

She added that the company would add more transport options, including high-speed rail ticketing, to meet rising demand for travel between Hong Kong and the mainland.

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A spokesman for the upmarket K11 Musea shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui said footfall rose immediately after the border reopened fully, and shoppers were drawn especially to its exclusive jewellery, watches and fashion offerings.

“With our coming annual flagship programme Art Karnival in March and a further growth in tourists expected, a strong and sustainable performance in sales and footfall at K11 Musea is expected,” he said.

Sun Hung Kai Properties, which is giving away HK$5 million worth of vouchers at its 15 shopping centres including APM in Kwun Tong, Yuen Long Plaza and Metropolis Plaza in Sheung Shui, said they expected more shoppers.

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Hong Kong’s pharmacies, which saw brisk business in December as Hongkongers snapped up medicines to send to friends and relatives on the mainland amid a surge in Covid-19 infections, have drawn only lukewarm interest from returning visitors.

Lam Wai-man, chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Pharmacy, said most mainland visitors were not looking for medicine.

“Many had stocked up enough medical supplies at home so they only set their sights on cosmetics or luxury items such as watches or jewellery,” he said.

Unlike in December, there was no longer any shortage of paracetamol-based painkillers. “The supply of Panadol is back to normal at pharmacies,” Lam said.

Restaurant operators remain optimistic about a rise in customer numbers in the coming months. Photo: Edmond So

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s restaurants were still waiting for business to rebound.

Ray Chui Man-wai, chairman of industry group Institute of Dining Art, said the end of the Lunar New Year festive season saw business dip as more residents left on holiday.

“Overseas and mainland tourists need to take time to plan their journeys while Hongkongers are still rushing to travel overseas,” he said, adding that people’s spending power remained weak because of the frail economy.

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But Chui said he was optimistic that business would increase from Easter as more visitors returned and the expected removal of the mask mandate buoyed spending sentiment.

Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said some outlets in tourist hotspots such as Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok and Chinese restaurants had already seen business rise.

“Chinese restaurants can still enjoy brisk business by cashing in on rising demand for spring dinners and wedding banquets,” he said. “We need to wait until the middle of the year for business to return to pre-pandemic levels.”