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Joseph Tung is expecting the worst for next week’s three-day holiday on the mainland. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong tourism sector fears the worst during next week’s mainland Chinese holiday

Travel Industry Council executive director thinks the number of Chinese tour groups visiting the city could halve to 150; retailers are also pessimistic

The city’s traditional mainland holiday shopping season could hit a new low next week amid recent tourism woes, including a drop in retail sales.

Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung Yao-chung said the number of mainland tour groups visiting Hong Kong was likely to decline from last year’s 300 to about 150 during next week’s three-day holiday on the mainland starting on Saturday, April 30 – Monday, May 2. Hong Kong also has one day off on the coming Monday.

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Retailers and an analyst are pessimistic about retail sales on the back of relaxed visa rules for mainland people for other destinations such as Japan and South Korea.

“We will be very happy if 200 tours turn up,” said Tung, who based his forecast on information obtained from travel agencies.

Tung said the peak tourism season had brought fewer high- quality overnight visitors to the city as a result of shorter mainland holidays and new travel choices.

“Hong Kong is still an attractive location for people who live in the Pearl River Delta,” he said, conceding that many would not stay overnight which meant less consumption in the city.

CLSA retail analyst Mariana Kou said “the seasonal effect” mainland holidays brought to Hong Kong retail sales had waned sharply in recent years.

“Japan and South Korea have proven to be much more trendy locations, especially for younger people in China,” Kou said.

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Currency devaluation and diversified tourism offerings had made Hong Kong – once a “shopping paradise” focusing on global luxury brands – lose its charm, she said.

“Why would people spend their holidays at a place which is both boring and expensive?” Kou said.

Instead of launching massive campaigns to cash in on mainland holidays, some retailers plan to cut promotions this year.

Chow Sang Sang, one of the city’s largest jewellers, said it would waive only one fee for some gold bracelets during this year’s holiday. In the past, it would spend large sums on advertising weeks ahead of the May holiday.

Lau Hak-bun, the firm’s director for Greater China, said he had become “bearish” about “golden weeks” in recent years, as their sales were up only around 10 per cent compared with ordinary days.

“We have seldom launched large-scale promotions recently,” Lau added. Instead, the retailer is adjusting its product mix to cater to local residents.

Rebecca Tse So-han, general manager of marketing at Japanese-style department store Yata, said it was not planning to offer any promotions during the three-day holiday as it was also targeting local customers – not mainland shoppers.

 

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