Advertisement
Hong Kong’s restaurant ranks expand faster than before Covid-19, as eateries prove more resilient than retail
- The number of licensed restaurants has grown 3.9 per cent since 2020, slightly faster than from 2017 to 2019, according to a CBRE report
- Restaurant receipts fell by 8.1 per cent in the three years from 2019 to 2021, but the decline was narrower than the 10.1 per cent plunge in overall retail sales
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
2
Hongkongers’ appetite for dining out amid travel curbs has made restaurants the city’s most resilient retail segment, with the number of operators growing slightly faster during the Covid-19 pandemic than during the preceding years, according to the latest report from CBRE.
Advertisement
The number of licensed restaurants grew 3.9 per cent to 17,200 from 2020 through October 2022, slightly faster than the 3.8 per cent growth recorded from 2017 through 2019, the property consultant said in a report released on Wednesday.
Compounded restaurant receipts fell by 8.1 per cent in the three years from 2019 to 2021. However, this decline was narrower than the 10.1 per cent decline in overall compounded retail sales over the same period, according to CBRE.
Restaurants recorded this relatively buoyant performance despite having to contend with tough social-distancing measures, such as limiting their operating hours and capping the number of diners per table.
“It has something to do with Hong Kong’s living environment,” said Marcos Chan, head of research at CBRE Hong Kong. “A lot of apartments in Hong Kong are very small, some people have very small kitchens, and some might not even have a dining table at home.”
Advertisement
Advertisement