Hong Kong restaurant receipts up 24.3 per cent in second quarter year on year as city shakes off pandemic blues
- Restaurants took in HK$27.4 billion between April and June, compared with HK$22 billion in revenue recorded in second quarter last year
- Catering sector expected to continue to improve because of steady growth of visitors and recovery of logistics sector
Hong Kong restaurant receipts in the second quarter jumped 24.3 per cent year on year, buoyed by the momentum of the city’s border reopening and a new round of consumption vouchers that spurred spending.
Restaurants took in HK$27.4 billion (US$3.5 billion) between April and June, according to provisional figures released on Thursday by the Census and Statistics Department, a marked improvement on the HK$22 billion in revenue recorded in the second quarter last year, when Hong Kong was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the first six months of 2023, restaurant receipts jumped 47.7 per cent to HK$55 billion over the same period in 2022, thanks to the city’s reopening to the world early this year.
The performance in the second quarter followed a whopping 81.7 per cent increase in restaurant takings to HK$27.6 billion in the first quarter from a year ago.
A government spokesman said the city’s catering business would continue to improve in the near term because of the steady growth of visitors and the recovery of the logistics sector.
“Looking ahead, the restaurant business should continue to improve. Visitor arrivals are expected to increase further along with the recovery of transportation and handling capacity,” the spokesman said.
“The improving labour market and the disbursement of the second instalment of consumption vouchers will support local consumption.”