“We only served three tables of customers on Saturday. It was worse on Friday – we only served two tables. The whole vibe was quite bleak, as my staff were just looking at each other the whole night,” said Ben Yeung Chi-keung, owner of Sakanaichi Hotpot in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Yeung said he was disappointed, especially as he had extended operating hours for lunch service at his 25-table restaurant.

“It was just miserable. I decided not to operate on Sunday as it would only be a waste of electricity and frustrating for my eight staff to serve no one. I would rather let them have an extra day off,” he said.

An owner of a restaurant chain with about 30 branches in the city reported a 30 per cent drop in business in the first three days of the break compared with last year, with his establishments in North district and the New Territories hit the hardest.

“The ones located in Kowloon are doing just fine with single-digit growth because more tourists are spending time there. But it cannot cover the drop in other locations,” said the owner, who declined to be named.

He added that landlords still kept raising rent despite the economic environment.

“It is really hard for us to compete with other cities in the Greater Bay Area which have lower operating costs,” he said. “High rent remains the biggest hurdle for me as I have already closed down a few establishments. Other industry players are experiencing the same situation.”

Immigration figures showed 350,000 residents had left Hong Kong and about 87,000 visitors had arrived on Sunday by 9pm. On Friday and Saturday, a combined 1.15 million residents departed, while the city welcomed 237,000 visitors, of which 72.5 per cent were from the mainland.

Hong Kong malls offer free parking as 541,000 people leave city for Easter break

A concern group set up on Facebook where residents can share their concerns over store closures and performance also soared in popularity over the weekend, with the number of followers jumping from 8,000 to 120,000.

A cafe owner who said he had run his business in Sai Kung for 22 years wrote on the page that the sluggish economy also affected the area’s footfall.

“Sai Kung feels like a ghost town before 8pm every evening. Even during the usual busy times, such as holidays, there is no traffic congestion, indicating how severe the situation is,” he wrote. “To make matters worse, my landlord increased the rent by 30 per cent even before things returned to normal in the past three months.”

Some Hongkongers have decided to stay in the city to save money. Beauty industry worker Elaine Cheung Yuen-shan, 32, said she had no travel budget remaining after spending about HK$80,000 (US$10,200) for a trip to Tokyo during the Lunar New Year holiday with her husband and six-year-old daughter.

“Given the poor economic environment, I find it difficult to travel like I did during holidays before Covid-19 hit. Staying in Hong Kong is not a bad idea, as my family of three can explore different places together,” Cheung said.

Hong Kong expects 11 million border crossings at Easter and Ching Ming Festival

“Spending time to see some art is quite nice as it doesn’t cost much,” she said, referring to a visit to Art Central, the main satellite fair held to coincide with Art Basel.

Among those also staying at home was Evan Wong Ching-chi, a father to a seven-year-old son and five-year-old daughter, as he failed to apply for annual leave to make the holiday worthwhile for travelling.

“It is actually a good thing. Travelling with a family of four can be quite expensive,” said the 49-year-old sales representative. “Staying in Hong Kong still offers plenty of activities where I can take the kids outdoors to burn off their energy. Cooking at home also allows us not to spend extra money.

“My wife and I were considering taking the kids to Disneyland or Ocean Park, but the entrance fees for a family of four are quite expensive, so we decided against it.”