Gloomy Christmas? Hong Kong restaurants brace for squeeze as tourists stay away, patrons leave town
- More Hong Kong residents planning to travel during festive season as overseas destinations open up
- Operators hope city will lift rules, switch to ‘0+0’ regime and bring back tourists soon
Hong Kong restaurants are bracing themselves for a festive season with little to feel good about, as few tourists are arriving and more residents are taking off on Christmas holidays.
Although the city axed hotel quarantine, easing its Covid-19 pandemic rules for arriving travellers to a “0+3” regime with three days of medical surveillance and tests, there has been no influx of visitors.
Instead, with many countries removing pandemic restrictions, more Hong Kong residents are planning year-end trips.
“Unless the government does something, and does it very soon, we’re in for a really, really, really stressful period through January, February,” said Australian chef and restaurateur Shane Osborn, 52, who runs three restaurants, including the one-Michelin-starred Arcane.
He said he was experiencing his worst season since the pandemic began, with business down 40 per cent compared with last year, while costs had gone up because of more expensive food, wine and utilities.
Aside from weaker bookings, companies were also spending less and asking for bigger discounts.
“As an industry, it’s going to be really challenging for us and there are going to be casualties – there are no two ways about it,” he said.
