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Willa Wu

Ambrose Li

Oscar Liu

Harvey Kong

Hong Kong recorded a net outflow of 592,740 trips between Saturday and 9pm on Thursday but the catering sector reported an 8 per cent increase in business on Christmas Day compared with last year.
On Thursday, crowds of residents and visitors celebrated Boxing Day by enjoying new events, including a park exhibition featuring hundreds of panda sculptures and a Christmas-themed pyrotechnics display at the West Kowloon harbourfront.
Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, attributed the growth in business to the resumption of a multiple-entry visa scheme for residents in neighbouring Shenzhen.
“The average spending per mainland [Chinese] tourist is down by about 20 per cent compared with pre-pandemic times,” he said.
“But the higher numbers of visitors [bolstered by the reintroduction of the multiple-entry visa scheme for Shenzhen residents] have compensated for this loss.”
He said business on Christmas Day rose by 8 per cent and by 10 per cent on Christmas Eve compared with last year.

For the six-day period from Saturday to 9pm on Thursday, Hong Kong recorded more than 2.8 million arrivals and 3.4 million departures, resulting in a net outflow of 592,740, according to Immigration Department data.
Hongkongers made 75 per cent of the departures, or 2.58 million trips. A total of 644,777 people, 73 per cent of whom were from the mainland, visited the city over the six days.
On Boxing Day, Hongkongers made 322,463 outbound trips as of 9pm while inbound traffic stood at 102,096. Excluding returning residents, mainland visitors made up 66 per cent of arrivals.
The city recorded a net inflow of 97,370 people on Thursday, with more than 521,000 arriving, including returning residents, and about 424,000 leaving.
Last year, 1.9 million residents left Hong Kong from December 22 to 26. The city also recorded 679,000 visitors over the same period, with about 75 per cent of them coming from the mainland.
As night descended on Thursday, both locals dressed in holiday-themed outfits and visitors gathered at Victoria Harbour to enjoy the last night of the Winter Harbourfront Pyrotechnics, which lit up the sky over West Kowloon for a 10-minute festive feast of a burst of colour for Christmas.
In the afternoon, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park in Sai Ying Pun was packed with people visiting a lifelike panda mascot and hundreds of sculptures on the last day of the public display of “Panda Go! Fest HK”, part of the city’s efforts to promote the panda economy with the new bears at Ocean Park.
Some residents said they opted to stay in the city for Christmas to avoid heavy crowds on the mainland and the expense of travelling overseas.

Among them were transport sector worker Caden Wong, 26, and his girlfriend, who visited the Hong Kong Food Festival on Thursday to savour the Christmas atmosphere.
“The cost to travel during this period will be much higher and airfares will be expensive,” he said. “If we were to travel overseas, we would mostly want to do so during the non-peak seasons.”
The pair planned to spend about HK$300 at the venue and said they would walk around, try different food items and buy anything they found attractive.
Also at the festival with his family was 60-year-old designer Eric Leung.
“There are much too many people if I were to travel to the mainland. There are also way too many people overseas as well,” he said, adding that we was attending different events and festivities over the holidays.
Despite the holiday shopping fervour, not all businesses experienced the upswing.
Herman Chan, the marketing director at Sumeru World Mall, which sells a range of prepared dishes, said he expected rising costs to have affected business.
“If you calculate the difference between our business this year and our investment, we will have a 10-20 per cent loss,” Chan said.
Lau Hak-bun, chairman of the Kowloon Pearls, Precious Stones, Jade, Gold and Silver Ornament Merchants Association, however, pointed to a 10 per cent increase in the flow of customers because of the resumption of the multiple-entry visa scheme.
He added that about 60 per cent of his jewellery customers were from the mainland, but business had only matched last year’s level.
“Christmas should be the peak season, but the average spending has dropped since the pandemic. In the past, a customer could easily spend over HK$10,000 if not up to HK$30,000. Now, it’s about HK$6,000 to HK$7,000,” Lau said.
He added that gold price rises of up to 20 per cent from the beginning of the year had also dampened shopping desires and had not fuelled demand for other types of jewellery.
Lam Wai-man, chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Pharmacy, said local shops along MTR lines had seen a more than 10 per cent increase in business.
Personal hygiene, health and medical goods produced in Hong Kong were the most popular among mainland customers, Lam added.


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Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong records net outflow of 592,740 trips over 6-day Christmas period

Travellers at the departure hall for the West Kowloon High Speed Rail Station. Photo: May Tse

The Winter Harbourfront Pyrotechnics show adds a splash of colour to the night sky at West Kowloon. Photo: Sun Yeung

Travellers queue to check in at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: Elson Li

Hongkongers make more than 2.2 million trips since Saturday

People enjoy the festive decorations at Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Jelly Tse

A couple at a Christmas installation at APM shopping centre in Kwun Tong. Photo: Edmond So

Shoppers and tourists flock to Tsim Sha Tsui on Christmas Day. Photo: Nora Tam

Hong Kong restaurants and bars enjoy business bump over Christmas

Businesses in Lan Kwai Fong have rolled out festive products to attract customers. Photo: Jonathan Wong

People flock to Lan Kwai Fong in Central. Photo: Jonathan Wong

News

Hong Kong

Society

Hong Kong Economy

But catering sector reports an 8 per cent boost in business on Christmas Day compared with last year


But catering sector reports an 8 per cent boost in business on Christmas Day compared with last year.


Hong Kong tourism

Shenzhen

Christmas