Some Hong Kong restaurants and hotels hoping for Messi-inspired boost to business as tourism sector calls for more sporting events

Some restaurants and hotels are hoping to score extra business from the visit of football superstar Lionel Messi and his team Inter Miami to Hong Kong, while the tourism sector has called for more such sporting events to boost the economy. The 36-year-old Argentinian World Cup winner and his teammates flew into the city by private jet on Friday and will hold an open training session at Hong Kong Stadium in Causeway Bay on Saturday. The US side, co-owned by David Beckham, will play a sold-out friendly match there against a local select team on Sunday. About 40,000 spectators are expected at the stadium each day. Tourism sector lawmaker Perry Yiu Pak-leung said such sporting events would be helpful for developing the industry locally. “The tourism sector welcomes more such events,” Yiu said. “If such kind of events could be confirmed and promoted earlier, package products could be launched by the tourism industry. “The business impact brought by those events could be stronger.” He said a package could consist of tickets for the sports event and other local attractions, together with a hotel stay. Messi arrives in Hong Kong as Inter Miami team land ahead of weekend match Inter Miami’s visit is among more than 80 major events the government announced last week would be held in the first half of the year to boost the economy. Among other coming events are the Art Basel fair, the Hong Kong International Cultural Summit and pop culture exhibition ComplexCon. Football star Lionel Messi arrives at his hotel in Hong Kong Video: Ambrose Li pic.twitter.com/kCGJoCioY0 — SCMP Hong Kong (@SCMPHongKong) February 2, 2024 Yiu suggested that mega events be held during the tourism industry’s low season, such as early January, to help sectors such as hotels and food and beverage. Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, executive director of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, agreed that large-scale events could have a positive effect on tourism. “Events like Messi’s visit have attracted international attention, generated positive media coverage, and created a buzz that encourages people to visit Hong Kong,” he said. Lo Yau Kee restaurant on Caroline Hill Road, near the stadium in Causeway Bay, will increase staffing over the weekend for an expected surge in customers. “It is considered a good thing for our business,” employee Max Tan, 21, said. “Normally our daily turnover is around HK$7,000 to HK$9,000. But during major events like this, it is expected to be around HK$12,000 to HK$14,000 per day.” Lionel Messi will play for Inter Miami in Hong Kong ‘save for illness or injury’ Eileen Chan, operator of restaurant Yuga which sits on the same road, said she had noticed a surge in customer numbers in the past week. “We’ve seen many foreign and mainland tourists who came to our restaurant while carrying their luggage,” the 56-year-old said. She said she had stocked up on ingredients in preparation for visitors who would “overcrowd the whole street”. Chan said she would be happy to see the government do more promotions on mega events such as Messi’s three-day visit. Jack Cheung Ki-tang, a director of CTS HK Metropark Hotels Management, said rooms in the group’s property in Mong Kok were filling up more quickly for the weekend than usual. He said the room occupancy rate for the weekend had reached 90 per cent as early as Wednesday, while such pattern was usually observed on Thursday in the past. “Room occupancy rates on weekends are usually higher. But this time we saw the room occupancy rate filled up earlier,” Cheung said. “An earlier fill-up indicates that there is a higher demand for rooms.” Yiu said it might be difficult to identify the actual business impact brought by Messi’s visit yet, as the weeks ahead of Lunar New Year were typically peak season for mainland Chinese visitors coming to Hong Kong for shopping. “The overall number of inbound visitors has been raised, so it’s difficult to say how much more hotel business has been raised because of Messi’s visit,” he said. Citing government figures, he said Hong Kong last month recorded a total of 3.82 million visitors, with 2.98 million of them from the mainland. The figure for mainland visitors surpassed the post-pandemic peak of 2.97 million in July last year. Yiu said the business impact would have been more obvious if the event were held during weekdays. Chin Chun-wing, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar and Club Association, said the sector was expecting a 20 to 30 per cent increase in business on Sunday. The match will be broadcast live on ViuTV channel 99, with Chin estimating the average spending per person watching the game in a bar will be HK$300 to HK$400. Chin said the match would also end just as dinner time was starting, which would further benefit the industry. He said he welcomed the government’s drive to organise mega events such as these to help boost business.