Hong Kong restaurants worry bad weather will put off mainland Chinese tourists over Labour Day ‘golden week’ break

Simon Wong, president of Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, says industry can expect a 10 per cent drop in business against last year’s figures

Restaurants report slow start to Labour Day ‘golden week’, but some tourists undeterred as they seek out culinary treats despite persistently poor weather

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Diners eat lunch at a restaurant in Mong Kok. The city is expected to welcome at least 800,000 mainland Chinese visitors over the break. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 8:42pm, 1 May 2024Updated: 5:53pm, 18 Aug 2024

Hong Kong restaurateurs are worried bad weather will put off many mainland Chinese tourists over the Labour Day “golden week” holiday, with a 10 per cent drop in business expected compared with the same period last year amid changing spending habits.

Simon Wong Ka-wo, the president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said on Wednesday operators were mostly pessimistic about their prospects for the holiday.

“Hong Kong has been hit by lightning and heavy rain today, which has deterred mainland tourists from coming in the morning. Bookings have also been so-so because visitors prefer to walk in instead of making advance bookings to suit their last-minute schedule,” he said.

As of 9pm, more than 173,000 mainland visitors had crossed into the city while about 295,800 people, including roughly 184,440 residents, had left, according to data from the Immigration Department.

The golden week holiday runs from May 1 to 5 on the mainland, and Hong Kong hosted a fireworks display on Wednesday to kick-off the celebrations despite earlier concerns the show might be cancelled due to the poor weather.

“As there may be a fireworks display tonight, there may be better business and flow of people later, about a 10 per cent rise compared with regular days,” Wong said.