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Kahon Chan

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Hong Kong recorded a 7.5 per cent increase in visitor numbers over the Christmas and New Year period, immigration data shows, while local businesses grappled with lacklustre sales amid a 10.1 per cent rise in outbound trips by residents.
According to official figures, the city recorded 12.41 million trips between December 21 and January 1, a 15 per cent increase over the number from the same 12-day period the year before, but still 5 per cent below the Immigration Department’s forecast.
There were 1.77 million visitor arrivals during this year’s festive period, 7.5 per cent more than the 1.65 million recorded last Christmas season.
The most recent holiday’s tally of 1.28 million mainland Chinese tourists represented a year-on-year increase of 3.5 per cent. There were 496,166 foreign arrivals, up by nearly a fifth from a year ago.
The uptick in visitors was a boon for some establishments well-known among mainlanders, while other businesses lamented lacklustre sales despite enjoying strong online followings.
A restaurant on Granville Road in Tsim Sha Tsui popular with users on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu was fully occupied on New Year’s Day at 2.30pm, with about 30 customers waiting outside for a table.
“After the implementation of the multiple-entry visa, business has increased by 10 to 20 per cent,” restaurant manager Cat Lee said on Wednesday.
Business during the Christmas and New Year holidays was 20 per cent higher compared with regular days, noting that 80 per cent of the customers were from the mainland.
But at a well-known traditional bakery on Causeway Bay’s Leighton Road, which has been in business for more than 50 years and become a favourite among many Xiaohongshu users, staff said its popularity had done little to offset the loss of local patrons.
“We have lost about 20 per cent of revenue compared with last year,” said a 40-year-old man who identified himself as a relative of the store’s owner. “Now we are making about 20 to 30 per cent of our revenue from the pre-pandemic period.”
Since pandemic travel restrictions were lifted, local businesses in Hong Kong have struggled with the growing trend of residents heading across the border to spend.

According to the Immigration Department, residents made 4.41 million outbound trips between December 21 and January 1, a 10.1 per cent increase from a year ago. Hong Kong’s population was more than 7.5 million people as of June.
More than 400,000 people watched the New Year’s Eve fireworks display on both sides of Victoria Harbour. The number was 79,000 fewer than the official estimate for the previous event.
Bond Law Chen-pang, executive director of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, said that even though visitor numbers had risen and streets in the city appeared to be packed over the holiday season, its poll of about 3,600 shops showed that most retailers observed a dip in sales in December.
Some businesses even recorded a year-on-year fall exceeding 10 per cent, according to the survey.
Law said the reintroduction of multiple-entry travel permits for Shenzhen residents on December 1 had likely brought better sales for some restaurants and cosmetics retailers, but those selling luxury goods had seen few benefits.
“Tourists’ purchasing power remains subdued as they are now mainly here for sightseeing,” he said. “While the overall footfall [of visitors] has increased, the actual footfall of shoppers was still lower than a year ago, and with more Hongkongers also travelling in December, the local retail business has been affected.”
A salesman surnamed So told the Post that holiday business at the pharmacy where he worked in Tsim Sha Tsui had fallen by 50 per cent from a year before.
“I guess it might be because, after the New Year’s Eve fireworks in 2023, some mainland tourists were unable to return home and had to sleep on the streets, which deterred some of them from coming to Hong Kong this time,” he said.
On January 1 last year, thousands of mainland tourists were left stranded at Sheung Shui MTR station to wait for the first cross-border train that day due to special overnight MTR services failing to cover stops near crossing checkpoints.
To avoid a repeat of the incident, authorities introduced new arrangements to ensure smoother return journeys for mainland visitors ushering in 2025 in Hong Kong.
The Shenzhen Bay border checkpoint stayed open overnight on New Year’s Eve, while the Lo Wu crossing remained open until 2am.
So said the government should hold more fireworks displays and other events to attract more tourists, and do more to promote the city.
“Without mainland tourists, the business is dead,” he said.


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Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

Businesses grapple with lacklustre sales as number of outbound trips by residents increases by 10.1 per cent


Businesses grapple with lacklustre sales as number of outbound trips by residents increases by 10.1 per cent.


Hong Kong tourism

Tourism

Hong Kong visitor tally over festive period up 7.5%, but offset by departures

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Businesses grapple with lacklustre sales as number of outbound trips by residents increases by 10.1 per cent

Businesses grapple with lacklustre sales as number of outbound trips by residents increases by 10.1 per cent