Airline ticket giveaways, elaborate drone and pyrotechnic shows, and invitations to thousands of influencers to visit and “tell a good story.” These are among the wide-ranging ways Hong Kong has tried to revive its international tourism industry, a crucial economic driver battered by years of pandemic restrictions and political upheaval.
It hasn’t been working that well.
Despite these efforts, for which the Hong Kong government budgeted roughly $129 million this year, the rebound of international travel to the city continues to lag far behind the tourist activity reported at most other Asian destinations. Thailand, South Korea and Japan are reporting visitor numbers nearing or surpassing prepandemic levels, as is most of the rest of the world, according to the latest data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
But across Hong Kong, small shops and restaurants have closed, luxury hotels have dozens of empty rooms on any given night, and vibrant neighborhoods, once thronged with tourists, have quieted.
Numerous factors have led to this decline. In 2019, pro-democracy demonstrations over mainland China’s deepening control roiled Hong Kong. Tourism plummeted amid the turmoil, falling nearly 40 percent in the second half of the year compared with 2018. In early 2020, in response to the pandemic, Hong Kong closed its borders, enacted long quarantines and intermittently banned flights — some of its measures went beyond those in the other parts of the world. Recently, an exodus of foreign residents and companies has threatened the city’s reputation as a global finance hub, while other Asian cities continue to rapidly develop their own tourism infrastructure. And Hong Kong locals, lured by cheaper prices, are traveling to mainland China to eat and shop.
“It had glamour, entertainment, lifestyle, the beautiful harbor. But the sands have shifted,” said Gary Bowerman, a travel expert who heads a Hong Kong-based consulting company called Check-In Asia. “It’s not just about Covid and the uprising; the whole of Asia has changed around them.”
‘We haven’t had a lot of luck lately’
Hong Kong’s neon-lit atmosphere, Michelin-heavy restaurant scene, and iconic skyline of impossibly tall buildings and undulating hills built the city’s reputation as a cosmopolitan destination that annually drew millions of tourists.A British colony turned special administrative region of China, Hong Kong was long known for its relative autonomy from Beijing.
In 2018, the city received its most visitors ever: around 65 million people, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, with tourists spending more than $42 billion, about 4.5 percent of the city’s gross domestic product. In 2019, tourism slowed; 56 million travelers spent about $33 billion.
In all of 2023, 34 million people visited Hong Kong while in the first eight months of this year about 29 million people have visited, according to the tourism board. A welcome increase, but lukewarm compared with the high figures before the pandemic.
In July, I traveled to Hong Kong to experience the city myself. One evening in Mong Kok, known before the pandemic to be a frenetic and densely packed shopping district, I easily navigated the maze of vendors peddling everything from fresh mangosteen to goldfish. There weren’t any crowds. Cavernous luxury malls along Victoria Harbor in Tsim Sha Tsui, a brief ferry ride north of Hong Kong Island, had plenty of high-end stores, but customers were scarce and employees, in stores like Burberry and Aesop, seemed to be idling in their shops. The majority of tourists were outside leisurely strolling the Avenue of Stars, a sweeping waterfront promenade, and taking in the views of the harbor, which cost nothing.
I also visited the M+ Museum, a 700,000-square-foot complex that opened in 2021 after years of delays with space for galleries, cinemas and a rooftop garden, and designed to rival internationally renowned museums like the Tate Modern and Museum of Modern Art. But I found the atmosphere to be quiet and Zenlike compared with the crowds you’ll find at those museums.
Another evening, I sought out Under Bridge Spicy Crab, a popular restaurant in Wan Chai, one of Hong Kong’s oldest districts. I braced for a long wait, but instead was quickly ushered in to a half-empty room.
Small businesses and restaurants are struggling from the dearth of customers. Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants & Related Trades, said he estimated that about 1,000 restaurants had shuttered from March through August, reeling as Hong Kong residents head to mainland China and elsewhere to dine and shop, as well as the fewer tourist dollars coming to Hong Kong.
Kevin Shih, who owns several Japanese restaurants including Jan Jan Kushikatsu in Wan Chai, never saw the uptick in business he expected after Hong Kong’s pandemic restrictions were relaxed last year. Nightlife in the city overall, he said, remains subdued.
“There’s less people hanging out in bars, less people hanging out late night. In general, there’s just less people in the street,” Mr. Shih said. “I guess Hong Kong is trying, but we haven’t had a lot of luck lately.”
But recently some welcome changes could be seen, Mr. Wong Ka-wo said, with more visitors arriving around Golden Week, a weeklong Chinese national holiday in early October.
“The inflow of tourists from the mainland and other countries has been encouraging,” he said. “More new shops of different specialties have been opened in early September to meet the demand.”
‘Slower than anyone anticipated’
The Peninsula Hotel, the territory’s oldest hotel and one of the most luxurious properties in the world, towers grandly over Victoria Harbor. Inside are 300 rooms and suites, and afternoon tea is served in an opulent and vast lobby with gilded molding. A fleet of spotless Rolls-Royce Phantoms flanks the entrance, awaiting passengers to whisk around the city, and guests can also arrive by helicopter, using a rooftop helipad.
In August, the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, the holding company that owns and operates the Peninsula and nine other locations worldwide, reported an underlying loss of $57 million for the first half of this year. In contrast, the company had an underlying profit of $19 million for the same period in 2019. This year’s loss was attributed in part to lackluster performance in Hong Kong, with weakened long-haul markets from the United States and Europe, in addition to Hong Kong residents traveling to nearby Shenzhen, in mainland China.
Clement Kwok, the company’s chief executive, said that while Hong Kong continued to be affected by “weaker long-haul travel,” there were “positive signs of recovery.”
“An increasing number of overseas visitors to Hong Kong have realized that Hong Kong remains an attractive destination for both business and leisure travelers,” Mr. Kwok said.
Most of the 23 million visitors who came to Hong Kong between January and August traveled from mainland China, while fewer than two million came from long-haul markets, including the United States, Canada and Australia. This was about a million fewer long-haul tourists than in the same time period of 2019.
Across town in Central, the city’s business district, the Upper House is a five-star hotel with serene, minimalist interiors and rooms that start at $600 a night. The property has tried to lure guests with offers such as complimentary extra nights and curated wellness experiences.
“It has taken time for international tourism to come back to Hong Kong,” said Kristina Snaith-Lense, the hotel’s general manager. “Our No. 1 long-haul leisure market is the U.S., followed by the U.K. And it’s coming. It’s just slower than anyone anticipated.”
Airlines slow to restore service
During the pandemic, global airlines drastically cut flights connecting Hong Kong to the rest of the world. Airlines have been slow to restore service.
The number of seats between Hong Kong and everywhere else is down 18 percent this October, compared with the same month five years ago, according to Cirium, an aviation data company. But the drops to and from certain regions are startling: a 34 percent decline in seats for connections to North America and a 41 percent decrease in those to Europe.
Some airlines, like Lufthansa, have slashed the number of seats by more than 60 percent. British Airways, which flies 42 percent fewer seats now than in 2019, is halving service from London to Hong Kong. (A spokesperson for British Airways told The South China Morning Post that operating costs had risen because the closure of Russian airspace.)
Others, like American Airlines, haven’t resumed flights to Hong Kong. The airline discontinued service in December 2021, citing soft demand in Asia.
However, United Airlines, currently the only U.S. carrier with flights to Hong Kong, will soon operate more flights than it did before before the pandemic. Later this month, it will offer a second flight from Los Angeles, in addition to two daily flights operating from San Francisco.
Patrick Quayle, United’s senior vice president for global network planning and alliances, said that the additional flights to Hong Kong would give customers more flexibility.
“Coming out of the pandemic, the increased service will provide more connectivity and optionality to one of the world’s premier business destinations,” Mr. Quayle said.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways, which has struggled with pilot shortages, said it aimed to have all of its prepandemic flights back by early 2025, and would be increasing the number of flights between Hong Kong and North America next year. And ongoing work on a third runway system at Hong Kong International Airport, which would significantly boost the airport’s capacity, is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
‘The energy of the city is still there’
Flight connectivity is far from the only obstacle.
“It’s a lot of twisted perceptions about Hong Kong,” said Dane Cheng, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, at a recent news conference. That, he continued, “is most difficult for us to deal with, particularly in the long-haul markets.”
He added that visitors would feel different once they came.
The tourism board has stacked the calendar with events to entice tourists. In October alone, Hong Kong will host a food and wine festival, a major cycling event, a jazz festival and a professional women’s tennis tournament. In December, two giant pandas given by the Chinese government will go on public view at the Ocean Park theme park.
And there are big hopes for the new Kai Tak Sports Park, scheduled to open in March, to draw tourists from both near and far. Coldplay will perform three shows at the park’s 50,000-seat stadium in April.
The Tourism Board has also highlighted improving customer service for workers in service and hospitality, with a directive to “smile more.” Videos released online by the board promote attentive hospitality and “going the extra mile” while serving customers in restaurants and taxis. There’s even one about demonstrating courtesy while shoe shopping.
Curtis Bergh, whom I met in an airport lounge at Hong Kong International Airport, maintained that “the energy of the city is still there.” Mr. Bergh, a 41-year-old who works as a start-up consultant, lives in Taiwan and said he visits Hong Kong often.
But noting the departure of many businesses to other cities such as Singapore, he remarked that “people’s perceptions have changed.”
A crackdown by the authorities in Hong Kong has raised concerns among western companies and officials. Governments among Hong Kong’s top tourism markets, including the United States and Canada, have advised their citizens to exercise increased caution when visiting. The U.S. State Department warned that the Hong Kong government had “dramatically restricted civil liberties” and encouraged travelers to “keep a low profile.”
The government began prosecuting journalists and pro-democracy activists under an expanded national security law adopted last March. Acts like wearing a T-shirt with a protest slogan or criticizing China’s leader, Xi Jinping, on social media have landed Hong Kong citizens in prison with sentences exceeding a year.
After a ride on the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor, I disembarked in Kowloon. There, I spotted a billboard with mug shots of people sought by the Hong Kong Police Force for pro-independence efforts. All were accused of endangering national security; cash rewards were being offered for information leading to their arrest.
Another day, I took the tram up Victoria Peak, a viewpoint that offers staggering vistas of the city. About seven million people visit each year, according to the peak’s website. The ride was both extremely scenic and vertical.
At the top, I spoke with Venita Ross, an educator visiting from Salt Lake City. She had added a few days in Hong Kong after a work trip to Seoul.
“I just wanted to see it. It has always been a dream,” said Ms. Ross, of her first visit to the city. “There’s so much people, so much shopping, there’s so much entrepreneurship; it looks like a thriving economy.”
That made me think of a conversation I had with another tourist, whom I met on the Avenue of Stars, admiring the statue of the martial arts star Bruce Lee.
Victoria Hamade, visiting from Qatar with her husband and young daughter, said she initially didn’t have a lot of expectations for Hong Kong. But she’d been impressed by the scenery and the shopping, and said the quiet was nice.
“I was expecting a lot of tourists, but it’s not like that,” she said.
Daniel, her husband, was quick to interject. “I think there are a lot of local tourists,” he said. “Most of them seem like they’re from other parts of China, not Western tourists.”
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