Record 5.4m HK residents cross border to spend $3.6b

Ayra Wang

A record high of nearly 5.4 million Hongkongers traveled to the mainland last month, with estimated spending of around HK$3.6 billion, leaving Hong Kong's catering industry worried about their business in the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays.

The number of northbound Hongkongers set a monthly record of 5.35 million in October, which also marks a nearly 30,000 increase in August, according to the data from the Immigration Department.

Spending reached at least HK$ 3.6 billion as the average cost of a Hong Kong resident traveling to Guangdong was HK$680 in 2014, the latest estimation made by the Census and Statistics Department in 2015.

The Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management chairman Yeung Wai-sing told The Standard that he expected business during the upcoming holidays to be worse than that of the same period last year, when the border remained closed under the pandemic.

"I expect business turnover to drop four to five percent compared to last year," Yeung said.

Yeung said the northbound consumption has affected caterers in Hong Kong a lot, as business dropped 15 to 16 percent compared to last year during the National Day holiday.

He added that the decline in mainland visitors has further worsened the situation.

"The RMB has been depreciating and mainland visitors spend less now," Yeung said.

Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, is worried that the depreciation of RMB encourages Hongkongers to consume northbound as they found that "Hong Kong dollars are worth more in the mainland."

He said the catering industry should improve their cuisine's quality and give more discounts to attract people back to Hong Kong, while proposing the government organize more diverse activities under the Night Vibes Hong Kong campaign.

The government launched the campaign in September to stimulate consumption through activities such as night markets, food stalls, movie screenings and live music but Yeung said the campaign is "useless."

"The night vibe cannot solve fundamental problems - lack of labor and a bad economy," Yeung said. He urged the government to increase imported labor, so as to solve vital problems in the industry - the decline in food and service quality.

"Fewer young people are working in the industry now and people that are older and experienced are about to retire," Yeung said.

He added that many restaurants are hiring fewer full-time workers due to high costs, which led to poor service as it is more difficult to manage part-time staff.

Over 294,000 Hongkongers flocked north by East Rail Line in the first weekend after the axing of the black code, health declaration and the MTR's latest 30 percent discount for train trips to Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau Station.

A total of 158,265 went north via the Lo Wu control point and 136,479 via the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line control point.

Meanwhile, about 79,000 mainland visitors came to Hong Kong through the two ports last weekend.