An industry insider said Hong Kong restaurants expect business to fall 20% during the Easter holiday, while the government estimates that 6 million people will enter and leave Hong Kong during the five-day period, up 34% from last year.
Wong Ka-wo, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Catering Industries, said on Monday that weaker business forecasts have factored in a 10% to 15% increase in transactions as more mainland Chinese tourists are expected to come to Hong Kong.
“Although Hong Kong does not have an Easter holiday, we do enjoy the benefits of the new policy of multiple-entry visas for Shenzhen residents to Hong Kong. Last year, the outflow of Hong Kong residents to the Greater Bay Area was unusually high,” Wong told the South China Morning Post.
“The drop in sales (compared to a normal working day) is due to a large number of Hong Kong residents traveling out, and tourists spending less per capita.”
He added that tourists from the mainland are not spending as much now as before.
Earlier in the day, Wong told a radio show that restaurant business fell 20% during the three-day mini-holiday that began with the Ching Ming Festival earlier this month, lower than the expected 15%.
Huang said restaurant rents have generally dropped by about 10 per cent, allowing some businesses to cut costs and lower the prices of their dishes.
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