Rugby Sevens proves Western tourists are vital to our prosperity
The change in Hong Kong’s fortunes after Easter shows how much we need big-spending visitors
Hong Kong’s bars and restaurants appear to have had quite a reversal of fortunes over the past two weekends. Over Easter, multiple media reports detailed the dire situation for the hospitality and luxury retail sectors, with a disproportionate number of people leaving compared to those coming in.
According to Immigration Department numbers, over half a million Hong Kong residents took off between March 29 and April 1, either overseas or to China to get more bang for their buck eating and shopping. Meanwhile, only about 200,000 inbound visitors arrived, primarily from the mainland.
The Post ran a story about restaurants closing early – during a holiday long weekend, no less – because of the lack of customers. Operators estimated they were likely to have suffered a 30 per cent drop in business compared to previous years.
As someone who stayed in town, I can attest to the streets being quieter than normal, in spite of a rash of arts happenings, including Art Basel and Art Central.
In contrast to Easter’s doom and gloom, last weekend’s Rugby Sevens painted a more optimistic picture. Much of the news was instead of bright smiles and sunny skies – even when it threatened to rain.
Before the tournament even began, Wan Chai pubs were filled with people loudly carousing in numbers not witnessed since pre-pandemic times. As annoying as they were, it felt like the good ol’ days.
Rugby fans probably didn’t eat and drink in the same posh settings as the Art Basel folks did, but then again, pretentious art f**ts don’t know how to party like All Blacks and Les Bleus supporters.
Eventually, it will be interesting to see if fine-art collectors or sports fanatics added more to the city’s consumption tally.
For a time, I think our tourism officials relied complacently on mainland Chinese holidaymakers, assuming they would fork out to experience Hong Kong’s glamour and gourmet cuisine.
However, many Chinese arrivals were day trippers, touring by bus, and stopping only at souvenir shops and cheap canteens. If they stayed overnight, it wasn’t at nice hotels but at inexpensive dorms.
Of course, there are also wealthy mainland Chinese tourists who splurge extravagantly. But the days of queues to enter luxury stores and of visitors buying flats with suitcases full of cash might be over. Hong Kong’s tourism strategy now needs to change.
Hong Kong needs Western visitors. If we’re supposed to be Asia’s World City, then we need to appeal to a more international demographic. Western tourists still possess the highest spending power. That’s still the bottom line we cannot afford to ignore.
Many Chinese arrivals were day trippers, touring by bus, stopping only at souvenir shops