Hong Kong’s ‘golden week’ visitors could boost restaurant sector by 20 per cent, but industry warns staff shortages may create long queues
- Industry figures predict increased demand over holiday period, but warn staff shortfall still headache
- Restaurant group chairman says it has been uphill struggle to hire more people to work in sector
Hong Kong’s food and catering sector has said it expected a 20 per cent jump in business from the mainland China “golden week” holiday, but warned that a continued staff shortage could leave would-be diners facing long queues.
Ray Chui Man-wai, the chairman of Kam Kee Holdings, which runs 44 restaurants with about 1,000 employees, said earlier this week he expected the holidays to boost takings.
“We are not worried about getting business. Instead, we are worried about whether we have the ability to conduct business,” Chui said. “We are very short of manpower and we need that to accommodate many tourists.”
He added he had “exhausted all means” trying to hire more people, including offering higher salaries.
Simon Wong Ka-wo, the president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, agreed that customer numbers would be 20 per cent higher for the week around Labour Day.
Wong said the staff shortage was still a major problem and estimated that there was a shortfall of more than 60,000 workers.
“Salaries have increased at least 25 to 30 per cent in the last three months. This is a burden for our industry and it may continue,” he added.
Hong Kong cruise operator Harbour Cruise – Bauhinia said it did not expect strong business growth over the holidays because the bulk of visitors would be individual travellers.
The cruise company has been offering alternative dining options on cruises to mainland tour groups.
The move came after residents in districts such as To Kwa Wan complained that mainland visitors were causing a nuisance and traffic jams.
“We are expecting more independent travellers and less group tours for this golden week, but we rely on tour groups mainly,” Rockie Ip Ting-kwok, the director of operations at the cruise firm, said.
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Ip added the company had not had many bookings from tour groups yet, which made up 70 per cent of its customers.
He said two time slots for dinner – from 5.30pm to 7pm and from 7.20pm to 9.30pm – had been reserved for independent visitors in a bid to attract more tourists from the sector.
Cruise operations will run from the North Point and Kwun Tong piers, despite earlier plans to have more pickup points on the waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hung Hom, Wan Chai and Central.
“No one has got back to us regarding these plans,” Ip said. “We hope the government can participate in coordinating the terminals.”
The five days from Saturday to May 3 will be the first proper golden week holiday in more than three years because of Covid-19 disruption.
Quarantine-free travel between the mainland and Hong Kong did not return to normal until February.
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The Travel Industry Council has estimated 600,000 mainlanders would visit Hong Kong between Saturday and May 5, with more than 80 per cent of them being individual travellers.
It was reported earlier that the council had given tour agencies a list of recommended eating spots to take tourists to, which included 16 independent restaurants in several districts and a food court.
But Fanny Yeung, the council’s executive director, emphasised the list was only a suggestion and was designed to spread diners out over a variety of areas.
A representative of food court operator Food Republic, one of the listed businesses, said no travel agency had yet approached them for any special arrangements for tours.
The franchise said there would not be any special arrangements to cater to tours during golden week, but it was prepared to assign seating areas and reserve up to a quarter of its space for mainland groups.
“We will also be providing additional staff to coordinate, in order to balance the needs of both local customers and tourists,” the representative added.
