Junk boat parties are no longer trending in Hong Kong as the yacht rental business has seen a 70 percent year-on-year drop despite summer being the peak season for water sports, with minibuses and restaurants in hot spot Sai Kung impacted as well.
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Some business owners said they have been taking up part-time jobs as security guards or cab drivers to make ends meet.
Ma, a yacht-renting business operator, said this year has been "the bleakest" in his 40-year experience.
"There is little business on weekdays and almost no bookings even on weekends," the head of Hong Kong Pleasure Craft Club told Sing Tao Daily, sister paper of The Standard.
He said his business plunged 70 percent compared to the same period last year.
Ma said nearly 300 members of the club have seen declining business, with the worst in Sai Kung, the most popular water sports and island sightseeing district, with revenues in Tai Po and Aberdeen falling as well.
He said over 20 yacht business owners in Sai Kung have had to take up a second job.
Ray, a local coach of popular sport wakesurfing, said his business has plunged 70 percent so far this year as his regulars have dropped by 20 percent and there have been very few new customers.
"Two of my regulars told me that they need to spend more than HK$2,000 to wakesurf in Hong Kong each time, which is enough for them to go on a two-day tour to Shenzhen," he said. "I was speechless."
Local travel agency owner Li said cuttlefish fishing tours in Sai Kung, enjoyed by mainland and overseas tourists, have also performed poorly.
"It is difficult to gather enough customers for an eight-people tour on weekdays and tours are canceled on weekends due to fewer customers," Li said.
He said the reduced business is a "twinge" after the pandemic.
The yacht-renting business and other water sports, Li added, saw a "golden time" during the pandemic, when people were forced to stay in the city.
"I'm worried about how we can regain our lost customer base and attract new customers in the face of the competition from the mainland's low prices and diverse consumption experience," Li said.
The bleak business has also affected minibuses running on Sai Kung routes and nearby merchants.
A minibus driver running between Mong Kok and Sai Kung said the number of passengers has dropped by half compared to the pandemic era.
A seafood restaurant operator said the business is poor this summer, with hardly any customers even at the supposedly peak hour of 9pm on weekends.
A coffee shop owner said his business has fallen by 80 percent compared to pandemic levels, and at least 40 shops are vacant in the district.
Federation of Hong Kong Trade Unions in Tourism chairwoman Sara Leung Fong-yuen suggested building boutique hotels in Sai Kung, with locations picked by the enterprises bidding to run the hotel to attract Western tourists.
Vocational Training Council project manager Dennis Wong Ka-wing, who is a tourism veteran, said new activities should be introduced to attract more customers.
"Operators should be more creative and add new elements to water sports or other tourist activities to make the product competitive," Wong said.
