What Valentine's Day? 3 out of 10 unlikely to mark festival to celebrate romantic love

Over 30 percent of Hongkongers have yet to plan for Valentine’s Day this Friday, a matchmaking agency has found.

HK Romance Dating surveyed 461 males and females in a relationship on their gift preferences and plans for Valentine’s Day from January 13 to February 4 by phone, in-person or online.

It found that 38 percent of males and 31 percent of females said they had no idea or plan to celebrate the day.

For those who said they would go on a vacation, around one-fifth of men prefer traveling to the mainland, and 16 percent opt to travel abroad, whereas for women, about one-fifth said they would travel to the mainland or overseas, the survey revealed.

Additionally, the top Valentine’s Day activities varies depending on your gender. Nearly half of the men would celebrate at home while over half of the women would go to the cinema.

For couples celebrating at home, the agency suggested putting more effort into home decoration and preparing a Valentine’s dinner for the partners, or cooking dinner together to strengthen the relationship.

Some 41 percent of men and 38 percent of women said they would go shopping while over one-fifth of men expected gifts from their partners costing below HK$500, while 35 percent of women expected gifts costing between HK$1,001 and HK$5,000.

The agency said that 38 percent of men wished to receive digital electronic products while over half of the women preferred watches or jewelry.

Nearly 50 percent and 43 percent of males said that they would least prefer amusement park tickets and flowers, respectively. For females, 46 percent and 37 percent said the least desired gifts are stationery alongside dolls or toys or action figures, respectively. 

Some 47 percent of males and 28 percent of women indicated they had not thought about receiving gifts.

"We suggested couples try new experiences like do-it-yourself workshops or board games to increase interaction and freshness,” said Yubi Wong Ka-yu, co-founder of the matchmaking agency.

(Adelyn Lau)