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Can Asia’s nightclubs survive coronavirus?
- From Singapore to Hong Kong, nightclubs are reeling from Covid-19 restrictions and closures, with many businesses folding
- Experts say keeping the virus under control, successful vaccine roll-out, government support and adapting their business models will help
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Before the coronavirus pandemic, Zouk, one of Singapore’s oldest and most elaborate nightspots, easily attracted at least 3,000 partygoers a night. Now it sees only 150 patrons every evening and has had to transform parts of its 31,000 square feet complex into a restaurant, spin studio and cinema.
“We used to make more money in one night than we make in a month now,” said Andrew Li, the chief executive of Zouk Group. Revenue nosedived by over 85 per cent, he told This Week In Asia, meaning he had to cut 25 per cent of his staff, with more cuts possibly on the cards.
Like Zouk, many businesses in Singapore’s vibrant nightlife scene are reeling from the economic fallout as a result of the pandemic. Elsewhere in Asia, similar establishments remain shut as governments impose fresh lockdowns to tackle new waves of infections. In Hong Kong, for example, bars, nightclubs and party rooms have been closed since late November while Malaysian authorities recently extended a movement control order to the end of February.
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Does this spell doom for the nightlife sector? Health care experts and economists suggest it depends on whether the country has kept the virus under control, the speed of vaccine roll-out, and the monetary help governments can afford to offer.
But they were more cautious than bullish, noting that the industry would likely receive little or no help given its considerably small contributions to the economy.
FIRST TO SHUT, LAST TO REOPEN?
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