By Cannix Yau

Copyright scmp

Hong Kong retailers and caterers have reported business growth of up to 20 per cent year on year during mainland China’s National Day “golden week” break, with one tourist spending a whopping HK$1 million (US$128,500) on international brands, business leaders have said.
Industry leaders said stores selling gold, jewellery and cosmetic products emerged as the big winners as the eight-day break wrapped up on Wednesday, while cha chaan teng were the top dining choice, followed by Chinese restaurants.
Cha chaan teng are Hong Kong-style cafes known for their affordable comfort food and for their blend of East-meets-West culinary influences.
The catering and retail sector enjoyed satisfactory holiday footfall, with growth of up to 20 per cent from last year’s break, business representatives added.
According to the Immigration Department, 1.29 million mainland visitors headed to Hong Kong in the first seven days of the holiday, up by 6.4 per cent from last year.
The number of arrivals, excluding mainland travellers and Hong Kong residents, increased by nearly 27 per cent to about 210,000.
Travel Industry Council executive director Fanny Yeung Shuk-fun said: “The added festive decorations during the Mid-Autumn Festival have helped boost consumption for the city. We can see that business has been booming and the performance is satisfactory.”
Citing figures for the first six days of the holiday, Yeung said the city recorded more than 1.3 million inbound visitor arrivals, a 7 per cent year-on-year increase.
She noted that mainland visitors accounted for about 86 per cent of the figure, an increase of 5 per cent.

About 60 per cent of such travellers were overnight visitors, she said, adding the city had welcomed more than 1,000 mainland tour groups over the break.
She said the recovery of long-haul visitor levels had outstripped the growth in the number of mainland visitors, with nearly 15 per cent of all visitors over the break coming from overseas, an increase of more than 20 per cent from last year’s figure.
New World Development’s K11 Musea in Tsim Sha Tsui said both holiday footfall and spending rose by 12 per cent year on year by the break’s seventh day, with tourists’ spending jumping by nearly 20 per cent.
Holiday sales of global luxury brands at the shopping centre increased by 46 per cent from last year, while the number of watches and jewellery products bought went up by 43 per cent.
K11 Hong Kong CEO Horace Lam said the largest amount spent by a mainland tourist during the break was HK$1 million, with the shopper opting for international brands.
Sun Hung Kai Properties said its malls reported nearly double-digit turnover growth on average, with some shops, such as jewellers and personal care stores, reporting an up to 15 per cent increase in business.
Maureen Fung Sau-yim, the company’s executive director, said a resident spent HK$200,000 on gold and diamonds on National Day on October 1.
“Other sectors with National Day promotions, such as apparel and personal care stores, also expect a 10 to 15 per cent year-on-year growth,” she said.
She added that travellers primarily focused on products such as face masks and pharmaceuticals, with the average transaction value starting at least HK$2,000, an increase of about 5 per cent from last year.

Lawmaker Peter Shiu Ka-fai said retailers in popular tourist areas, such as Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay, had seen business grow by more than 10 per cent, adding that gold, jewellery, cosmetics and luxury apparel were the most sought-after products.
“But for the electrical products, the performance is far from satisfactory due to the popularity of e-commerce,” the retail sector representative said.
“The retailers need to change their strategy, such as increasing their use of technology and mainland resources, such as networks for improving and marketing their products.
“Overall, I am delighted with this performance. It shows that tourists are very important to our survival. I hope that the mainland authorities will further extend the multiple-entry visas to Greater Bay Area residents.”
Michael Leung Chun-wah, chairman of the Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management, said restaurants in prime tourist areas recorded business growth of between 15 and 20 per cent.
“Even for the non-touristy districts, outlets also reported a 10 per cent increase in business. Most of the tourists visited cha chaan teng or fast-food restaurants with an average spending of below HK$100 per head,” he said.
Chinese restaurants were also popular among the tour groups, with each [group member] spending about HK$100 per meal. Even for some elite restaurants, they also recorded 10 per cent growth in turnover. The situation has exceeded our expectations,” he said.
Fresh Seafood Restaurant owner Martin Chan Keung said his eatery in Tsim Sha Tsui enjoyed a 30 per cent year-on-year increase in holiday business, which he attributed to the more festive atmosphere stemming from the overlapping Mid-Autumn Festival.
“We were 90 per cent full every night during the week, and we’ve noticed that diners have loosened their purse strings, as each spent about HK$300 to HK$400 per meal, 25 per cent up from HK$200 to HK$300 per head last year,” he said.
“We hope this upbeat sentiment will continue as we enter the traditional peak season of the fourth quarter.”