Bad weather and weaker yuan cast cloud over Hong Kong ‘golden week’ hopes and could cut trade in restaurants by 30% Hong Kong restaurants could see as much as a 30 per cent drop in trade over the Labour Day “golden week” holiday compared with last year, despite the arrival of an estimated 800,000 tourists from mainland China. Restaurant operators said the shrinking spending power of visitors from across the border and the recent rainy weather could hit business hard. An economist agreed Hong Kong’s high prices and the mainland’s weak economy did not bode well for the city over the holiday between May 1 and May 5. “I am not expecting a miracle – Hong Kong is not cheap to start with – coupled with the weak renminbi, that makes products even more expensive,” said Simon Lee Siu-Po, an honorary fellow at the Asia-Pacific Institute of Business at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He added that the city also faced keen competition from alternative destinations. Immigration officials predicted a week before the start of the mainland holiday that the first day would see peak travel at land border crossings, with a million trips in and out of the city on May 1 alone. The city was expected to have 5.9 million arrivals and departures over the golden week period. “We shouldn’t be looking only at the quantity of tourists,” Lee said. “The spending patterns have changed. “On top of this, mainland tourists might not necessarily come to Hong Kong – those who have spending power might choose to go to Hainan or overseas to Thailand and Japan.” Rainbow Ma Sau-ying, the general manager at Pak Loh Chiu Chow Restaurant, which has branches in the popular tourist areas of Mong Kok and Causeway Bay, said she was not confident about increased business from tourism over the holiday. “The mainland tourists coming to Hong Kong are not necessarily the big spenders,” Ma said. “Locals these days have made spending across the border a habit, so it’s an unknown whether business will improve. “The rainy weather might play a part as well.” She predicted a worse financial performance this year relative to last year’s holiday, with a 20 to 30 per cent drop in business.The restaurant, on the Wan Chai promenade, will command an unobstructed view of a spectacular Victoria Harbour fireworks display on May 1 and offer a special menu at HK$560 (US$72), but its manager was still not confident that it would be booked out. “Our restaurant filled up previously when there were fireworks displays,” said the manager, who only gave the surname Ma. “But now, because the government has announced more frequent fireworks displays, they are no longer as attractive.” A 10-minute fireworks display at 8pm over Victoria Harbour is designed to be a highlight to kick off golden week. Ma added that the forecast of rain for the day of the fireworks also put a cloud over business prospects. He said he expected a drop of 30 per cent in takings compared with the last Labour Day golden week. He was also unsure whether his restaurant would benefit from the arrivals and urged the government to promote the Wan Chai promenade more to attract not only mainland tourists, but also visitors from overseas. Michael Leung Chun-wah, the owner of the Lucky Dragon Palace Restaurant, said the influx of mainland visitors could potentially benefit establishments in tourist areas but not those elsewhere. “Our restaurant is based in Ngau Chi Wan in a housing estate,” Leung said. “The droves of tourists in Hong Kong will not come all the way to us to eat, so they won’t be of help to our business.”https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3260701/bad-weather-and-weaker-yuan-cast-cloud-over-hong-kong-golden-week-hopes-and-could-cut-trade (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post