appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

April Zhang

I was in Wan Chai lately for some open mic events. The once bustling Lockhart Road and Jaffe Road were very quiet. The space vacated in 2021 by the Coyote Bar & Grill, after being a popular Wan Chai fixture for 23 years, remains vacant.
The plight of bars in Hong Kong is clear: the Covid-19 pandemic hit them really hard and they have never fully recovered.
The latest government statistics released on May 6 confirmed my anecdotal experience. The bar trade was the worst performer of the entire restaurant sector in the first quarter. While the whole industry saw a revenue increase of 2.3 per cent year on year, bars recorded a steep drop of 17.8 per cent.
Bar operators are trying to do something about it. Earlier this month, the Hong Kong Bar and Club Association launched a lucky draw with prizes worth HK$500,000 (US$64,000), and promised more discounts and offers during the holidays.
Association chairman Chin Chun-wing attributed the loss of business at bars to customers preferring to spend on the mainland and said he hoped the lucky draw would attract more Hongkongers back to the city’s bars.
He is probably in for a disappointment. Industry expert and nightlife magnate Allan Zeman criticised the lucky draw campaign as “desperate”. He urged the local industry to focus on providing premium services and experiences worth paying for, for example, through attractive decor. He lamented that “not a lot of people have the charisma to do that”.


I have a different view. Compared to before Covid-19 hit, there are fewer people frequenting Hong Kong’s bars. Since the city’s population has returned to pre-pandemic levels and tourists are coming back, this can only be explained by there being a smaller number of expatriate residents and foreign visitors now.
Hanging out in bars is a common social practice in many Western cultures, not so much among the Chinese.
During the pandemic, many expatriate residents left Hong Kong because of the government’s draconian measures, which also caused many multinational companies to relocate. The hotel quarantine policy also cut off nearly all foreign visitors. Consequently, bars lost many regular patrons.
As Hong Kong opened its doors again after the pandemic, many Chinese from the mainland came to settle in the city – but not so many expatriates. As tourists returned, again, while some Western visitors have come back, mainland visitors make up the majority.
These demographic factors correlate well with what has happened to bars.
The city’s bar business was quite stable until the pandemic hit and it went down dramatically. After pandemic restrictions were lifted last year, business rebounded but only to 76 per cent of what it was in 2018, lower than the 92 per cent recovery of the entire restaurant sector. Before the pandemic, bar takings consistently made up 1.5 per cent of the restaurant sector’s total receipts – today, they account for barely 1 per cent.


True, many Hongkongers go to the mainland to dine and shop nowadays. But this spending shift is not the real reason for the poor business in bars. If it were so, the entire restaurant sector would have shown a similar degree of decline. The reality is that business in bars has shrunk simply because its customer base, namely expatriate residents and foreign visitors, is smaller.
Yet bringing back expatriates is difficult. Beijing’s passing of the national security law in Hong Kong in 2020 did not help. Neither did Hong Kong’s passing of its domestic Article 23 national security legislation in March nor the recent court injunction against the protest song “Glory to Hong Kong”. Several Western governments have issued travel advisories for Hong Kong warning of broad and arbitrary local laws.
Rightly or wrongly, the perception of Hong Kong in the West is increasingly negative and people are questioning if Hong Kong is “safe”. Given this broad context, any effort to revive business in bars to where it was pre-pandemic will be a tall order.
Unless Hong Kong’s overall environment is seen as becoming more conducive to expatriates, the local bar scene will continue to struggle.
April Zhang is the founder of MSL Master and the author of the Mandarin Express textbook series and the Chinese Reading and Writing textbook series


Xi-Trump summit: Hong Kong’s Paul Chan predicts positive market response

Hong Kong is fast-tracking Northern Metropolis links. Will they be ready in time?

Trevor Noah shows underline need for action in Hong Kong on scalping

How Hong Kong companies are evolving with the times

Hong Kong economy

Face it, Hong Kong’s bars won’t recover unless enough expats return

People at The White Stag bar in Wan Chai during the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament in 2018. Photo: Dickson Lee

‘Golden week’ fireworks flop shows Hong Kong’s tourism plans lack sparkle

Crowds gather at Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront to watch the Labour Day fireworks show in Victoria Harbour, on May 1. Many people complained about not being able to see the spectacle because of thick smoke. Photo: May Tse

Fireworks light up the sky on the East Tsim Sha Tsui promenade on May 1. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Why Western hype about Hong Kong losing its high degree of autonomy rings hollow

People walk past the Chinese national and Hong Kong flags on October 1, 2023. PhotoL EPA-EFE

Hong Kong’s shift in fortunes, from Easter to the Rugby Sevens, shows why the city must appeal more to Western tourists

Rugby fans in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai neighbourhood on the eve of the 2024 Rugby Sevens. After a grim Easter the week before, the sporting event provided relief for bars and restaurants, and highlighted why the city’s tourism strategy must change. Photo: May Tse

Travellers wait to cross the border at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, which connects mainland China and Hong Kong, on the first day of the 2024 Easter holidays. Photo: Edmond So

Wan Chai’s bars come alive as locals and visitors gather on the eve of the 2024 Hong Kong Rugby Sevens. Photo: May Tse

Visitors at 2024 Art Basel Hong Kong. Photo: Eugene Lee

People shopping at high-end Hong Kong mall Langham Place during the Easter holidays. Photo: Sam Tsang

Opinion

Hong Kong Opinion

News

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Economy

Society

Is Hong Kong back? Views from SCMP Opinion

Hi-tech tourism hub? Hong Kong’s taxis don’t even take card payments

Passengers board taxis at Paterson Street, in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, on May 7. Photo: Sam Tsang

The smart “CabCab” meter is demonstrated at the press conference launch, at the Hong Kong Productivity Council in Kowloon Tong, on January 31. Photo: May Tse

The Didi Chuxing app has become ubiquitous on the mainland. Photo: Bloomberg

How learning Cantonese allowed me to fall in love with Hong Kong

Pedestrians in Central on January 18. Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong challenges expatriates to move beyond their gilded, English-speaking cages. Photo: Eugene Lee

Forget past glories, Hong Kong must find relevance in a changing world

Illustration: Stephen Case

Pedestrians in Jordan walk past a digital billboard displaying the Hang Seng Index on March 12. Photo: Eugene Lee

To restore its financial dynamism, Hong Kong must truly embrace diversity

Pedestrians cross a street in Central district, Hong Kong, on August 1, 2022. To thrive in the evolving landscape, the city must focus on redefining its identity to attract a diverse pool of talent. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong has a remarkably long history as being one of the world’s financial centres equipped with the rule of law. But it has been stuck in the past for too long. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Don’t discount the millions of Hongkongers who voted with their feet – by staying

Pedestrians cross a road in Central district in Hong Kong in 2023. Government statistics registered a net inflow of people in the last two years. Photo: Bloomberg

A man hugs his mother as he leaves for the UK with his wife in 2021. Although Britain has created a “bespoke” immigration route for around 5.4 million Hong Kong residents, only a very small number have taken up the offer. Photo: Getty Images

People walk by the Exchange Square Complex which houses the Hong Kong stock exchange, in Central district, on January 19. Hong Kong’s stock market had seen sharper drops than the most recent one, and each time it bounced back. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Hong Kong should celebrate its common law, to boost trust in the city

The expatriates and international travellers who went away have mostly been replaced by mainlanders – but hanging out in bars is a predominantly Western social practice


The expatriates and international travellers who went away have mostly been replaced by mainlanders – but hanging out in bars is a predominantly Western social practice.


Hong Kong society

Food and Drinks

Coronavirus Hong Kong

Hong Kong national security law (NSL)

Hong Kong’s Article 23 national security law

Hong Kong protests

Allan Zeman

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Face it, Hong Kong’s bars won’t recover unless enough expats return

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}The expatriates and international travellers who went away have mostly been replaced by mainlanders – but hanging out in bars is a predominantly Western social practice

The expatriates and international travellers who went away have mostly been replaced by mainlanders – but hanging out in bars is a predominantly Western social practice