[HONG KONG] While the past 12 months have seen a gradual return of visitors from mainland China to Hong Kong, their different consumption habits in this post-Covid environment are prompting a rethink among Hong Kong businesses.

Gone are the days when mainland tourists splurged on luxury handbags, pricey gold watches and designer clothes. Instead, the new waves of tourists are cautious spenders on the lookout for value.

They are seeking more interesting and diverse experiences rather than luxury goods, and are spending significantly less time and money than before on their travels. These patterns have mixed implications for Hong Kong’s retailers as they adjust to this new normal. More than 21.4 million mainland tourists arrived in Hong Kong in the first 10 months of 2023, as indicated by official figures released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

They accounted for 80 per cent of the total of 26.8 million. More than half of the mainland tourists were day-trippers who returned home on the same day. About 10 million stayed at least one night in Hong Kong. Ocean Park, the city’s premier tourist destination, recently disclosed in its annual report that the theme park welcomed 2.1 million visitors in the year to Jun 30, up from 1.4 million visitors a year ago. Its sister theme park, Water World, had 300,000 visitors, up from 200,000. It does not have a breakdown of visitors by country. A Hong Kong Tourism Board spokesperson said in an e-mail to The Business Times that it is “confident that the annual visitor arrivals could reach 30 million, supported by the series of events and happenings in winter”. Commenting on the frugality of tourists from the mainland, analysts at consultancy JLL said that the pace of recovery of the tourism sector has also been blunted by the global economic slowdown and the strong Hong Kong dollar exchange rate.   Hong Kong’s tourist spending in the first half of the year came in at about 16 per cent of total retail sales, marking a decline from 32 per cent in 2019 and 40 per cent in 2014. Total retail sales declined by 15 per cent in H1 2023 from the same period in 2019, JLL said.   “The spending habits of inbound tourists, particularly mainland Chinese tourists, have shifted, with a greater emphasis on local and community-based tourism and food and beverage, and a drop in share of shopping spending,” it added, without providing exact figures.   The Tourism Board spokesperson said mainland tourists are particularly interested in the arts, culture and outdoor activities. They increasingly choose to cross the border by hopping on a high-speed rail train; about one in five mainland travellers arrive by train, compared to one in eight during the pre-pandemic.   The extended high-speed rail networks between Hong Kong and the mainland have led the Tourism Board to roll out promotional campaigns targeting people living within a five-hour high-speed rail circle covering Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian. The city is also working to offer new attractions in response to the changing trends. These include the West Kowloon Cultural District, with M+, a visual arts museum, at its centre; the Hong Kong Palace Museum; a multimedia show called “Momentus” at Hong Kong Disneyland; and a brand new Water World inside Ocean Park. Also, to reclaim its former glory in night-time entertainment, it has launched a “Night Vibes” campaign, with night bus tours, extended weekend opening hours at museums, brightly lit Christmas decorations, and evening activities at venues all over the city, and the traditional New Year countdown celebration.