Hong Kong has recorded over 1.32 million outbound trips made by residents during the Christmas holiday weekend, almost triple the amount of visitor arrivals.
According to figures released by the Immigration Department, Hongkongers made 1,327,744 departures via various checkpoints from Saturday to Monday. There were 470,648 arrivals logged by mainland Chinese and overseas visitors during the same period.
On Saturday – the first day of the four-day Christmas holiday weekend – Hong Kong logged 672,322 outward trips, of which over half a million were made by the city’s residents. Both figures were the highest since Covid-19 travel curbs were lifted earlier this year.
Weak consumption
The outflow of residents had taken a toll on local businesses during the holiday period, according to a lawmaker from the retail sector and an industry representative.
Anthea Cheung, director of the Lan Kwai Fong Association, said on an RTHK programme on Tuesday that fewer party-goers had visited the famous after-dark entertainment district in Central over Christmas compared to last year, when Covid-19 related restrictions were still in force.
She said that crowds only began to emerge on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day from around 5 to 6 pm this year, whereas people showed up from 2 pm previously.
“I think it’s because the amount of foreign visitors could not plug the gap [of outbound residents],” she told RTHK in Cantonese.
Cheung suggested that the city could organise more large-scale concerts and invite international stars to come to Hong Kong in a bid to attract more overseas visitors.
Speaking on the same programme, Peter Shiu, a lawmaker from the retail sector, said local consumption over Christmas was “sluggish.” He said that, except for certain cosmetic chains which had recorded a double-digit growth in business, overall sales were about the same as last year.
Shiu said that he observed a large crowd in Tsim Sha Tsui over Christmas, where the police had to close a part of Nathan Road to accommodate people going out to celebrate. “The atmosphere was good,” he said.
But spending habits were weak compared to pre-pandemic levels due to the global economic downturn, he added.
He also said that heading across the border to mainland China had become increasingly popular, as mainland destinations offered a better price-quality ratio and transport was convenient.
According to the Immigration Department, close to a million Hongkongers made trips to mainland China from Saturday to Monday via the high-speed railway at West Kowloon, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, and other border checkpoints connecting the city with the mainland.
Shiu said that the industry needed to improve its service to stay competitive, adding that the authorities could introduce more events to encourage residents to stay and spend in the city during holidays.
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