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Hong Kong property
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Hong Kong retail property segment cashes in as mainland Chinese tourists return to spend on luxury, dining out

  • Retail has outperformed all other property segments, Colliers Hong Kong executive says
  • ‘Retail market shall continue to improve as the number of mainland tourists is expected to grow’: CBRE Hong Kong

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Popular US sandwich chain Eggslut’s success points to a rosy outlook for Hong Kong’s retail property segment. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Cheryl Arcibal
Hong Kong’s retail property segment has benefited the most from the return of mainland Chinese tourists to the city, with brands and food and beverage operators snapping up shops in high streets and luxury shopping centres alike, analysts said.
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Retail sales in Hong Kong rose by more than a fifth to HK$137. 5 billion (US$17.56 billion) in the first four months of the year, after inbound tourism surged by more than 451 times to 7.3 million on an annual basis in this period, according to official data. More than three quarters of the tourists came from mainland China.

The return of tourists and improving retail sales have already lifted rents in prime high-street locations and major shopping centres in the first quarter by 3.9 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, a vast improvement over the annual declines of between 2.1 per cent and 33.2 per cent recorded from 2019 to 2022, according to consultancy Savills.

“Across all different property segments, the recovery is quickest for retail,” said Kathy Lee, head of research at Colliers Hong Kong. “It has outperformed all other property segments.”

A shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. Hong Kong’s core shopping districts have seen a flurry of leasing deals following the return of mainland Chinese tourists. Photo: May Tse
A shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. Hong Kong’s core shopping districts have seen a flurry of leasing deals following the return of mainland Chinese tourists. Photo: May Tse

Since the reopening of the border with mainland China earlier this year, “the return of tourists to the city is fuelling the growth of the retail market”, Lee said. “For the whole year, we expect high-street shop rents to rise by 8 per cent. In the first half, the growth was 3 per cent so the recovery will accelerate a bit in the second half of this year.”

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