Hong Kong-owned hotels, restaurants in Greater Bay Area city of Zhaoqing enjoy bullish start to Year of the Ox

Hong Kong entrepreneurs said their businesses in Zhaoqing were buoyed after authorities asked workers to stay put instead of travelling to their hometowns during the Lunar New Year

Businesses in Zhaoqing were boosted after the local government handed out 300 yuan to each resident staying back in the city for the holiday

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Zhaoqing is one of the most picturesque cities in the Greater Bay Area. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 10:00am, 21 Feb 2021Updated: 10:25am, 21 Feb 2021

Hong Kong-owned hotels and restaurants across the border in Zhaoqing started the Year of the Ox on a successful note, with their facilities overrun by mainlanders, avoiding the fate of their counterparts here who endured a subdued holiday because of restrictions.

Entrepreneurs said their businesses in the Greater Bay Area city were buoyed after mainland authorities asked workers to stay where they work instead of travelling to their hometowns during the Lunar New Year, the most important festival of the year for the Chinese.

According to an estimate by the Ministry of Commerce, some 48 million people were expected to stay where they work instead of travelling to their hometowns during the seven-day break, as usually is the case.

This was in sharp contrast to Hong Kong, where pubs and bars were closed, and restaurants operated with limited seating capacity, to control the fourth wave of the pandemic. The restrictions were partially lifted after many months on Thursday, after the end of the holiday.

Jack Wong Kam-ho, director of Perfect Construction Engineering (International), whose company has invested in Zhaoqing’s hospitality industry. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Yuhao Hotel, a boutique property with 60 rooms near the Dinghu Mountain lake area in Zhaoqing, was fully booked for the duration of the holiday.