There was a 40 percent decline in mainland visitors to Hong Kong compared to a year ago, according to the Hong Kong Inbound Travel Association.
However, despite the drop, Hong Kong has no plan to bring back the multiple-entry individual visit scheme for Shenzhen residents, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said on Tuesday. Even Lam Chi-ting, general secretary of Hong Kong Tourism Industry Employees General Union, agreed with Leung’s stand, reported China Daily.
Lam is not even open to easing regulations so more mainland residents could visit the island. He explained that Hong Kong needs more time to study its capacity to welcome more visitors from mainland.
There have been recent stories of a few incidents wherein Hong Kong residents were critical of the behavior of mainland tourists and were made to feel uncomfortable. However, it could possible been due to the growing number of incidents involving mainland tourists who do not behave properly when visiting other places, whether in other countries or local cities such as in the new Disney Town in Shanghai.
About 3 to 4 million mainland visitors arrive in Hong Kong monthly, while tourists from other countries average 150,000 to 160,000. But while apparently not rolling the welcome mat to mainlanders, Hong Kong authorities are trying to lure tourists from other major markets such as the U.S., South Korea and Japan.
In the past few years, Hong Kong has enjoyed a sizeable number of tourists which benefitted a lot the region’s retail sector as visitors shopped, noted Song Ding, senior analysts from the Tourism and Real Estate Industry Research Center of the China Development Institute.
However, VOA reported that Hong Kong is going through its biggest retail contraction since 2003. Since January, sales of watches, jewelry and other high-end products are down by almost 25 percent. Tourists are also buying less, worsened by Beijing’s anti-corruption drive which meant consumers shopping less of luxury brands that used to be favorite gift items to bribe government workers and officials.