Today (Oct. 1) marks the first day of the National Day Golden Week, with a large number of tourists travelling to Hong Kong. Timothy Chui, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Promotion Association, said on a radio programme that since the Mid-Autumn Festival (Sep. 25), many mainland visitors have been arriving in Hong Kong gradually. Coupled with the recent lantern carnival in Victoria Park being widely shared on mainland social media, many mainland tourists have been drawn to the city. This year's extended Golden Week has seen noticeably more visitors to Hong Kong than in previous years, and it is believed that the local tourism industry and related sectors will benefit.
Chui continued that Hong Kong is believed to have reshaped its image as a "fun" destination with diverse experiences after the pandemic, and that service standards in the service industry have improved over the past few years, attracting more customers. He added that some mainland companies encourage employees to "create" their own holidays, so travellers do not have to concentrate their trips on National Day itself. In addition, unfavourable weather in nearby regions such as Thailand has also drawn mainland tourists to the Greater Bay Area.
He also noted that during the Golden Week, some hotels have seen occupancy rates exceed 90%, with most visitors staying about two nights. Hotel room rates have risen slightly by about 10% to 20% compared with usual times, which he considered reasonable given the higher demand during the long holiday.
On the catering front, Simon Wong, President of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said the industry recorded nearly HK$1 billion in business during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a considerable year-on-year increase. He believes that from Mid-Autumn to the Golden Week period, business turnover could exceed HK$3 billion, averaging about HK$250 million per day, with Chinese restaurants overall expected to see a 10% to 15% rise.
Wong said that Chinese restaurants had faced difficulties in the past, but during the National Day period there are also many community activities, and many in the industry have reported ideal business during Mid-Autumn. He noted a clear increase in the spending power of Hong Kong residents recently, estimating that the many festive activities have boosted the festive atmosphere and encouraged residents to go out and spend.
He also observed that the cost-performance ratio of consumption in Shenzhen and other neighbouring Greater Bay Area cities is gradually catching up with Hong Kong, which he believes has led many Hong Kong residents, especially middle-aged people, to spend more time and money in the city. He said the most important thing for Hong Kong restaurants is to improve food and service quality and to do good promotion.
Related News:
Comment