【明報專訊】DURING THE CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS, Hong Kong's streets were bustling with shoppers. The New Year countdown fireworks display attracted over 400,000 people to both sides of Victoria Harbour to watch it. People from the tourism and catering sectors have said in unison that the overall consumption markets performed better than last year, expressing hope that they will go from strength to strength during the Lunar New Year holiday.
On New Year's Eve, countdown celebrations took place in many districts across Hong Kong and were joined by crowds of citizens and tourists. The Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront was teeming with fireworks spectators, while the West Kowloon Cultural District grew livelier into the night. Lan Kwai Fong in Central, which has lost much of its lustre in recent years, was also overflowing with people at night with full restaurants and bars. A catering industry representative has said that the market was doing a roaring trade on New Year's Eve this year, and the business volume for the entire day was expected to increase by about 5% to 8% from 2023 New Year's Eve.
After the New Year's Eve fireworks display in 2023, crowds of mainland tourists tried to return to the mainland via the Huanggang Port in the early hours. But due to limited bus services, many of them, unable to get hold of a ticket, were stranded at bus stops and MTR stations. This time around, the SAR government has learnt a lesson and put in place special customs procedures to divert the flow of people waiting to cross the border. The outcomes have been satisfactory.
According to government figures, about 156,000 people entered Hong Kong on New Year's Eve, 77% of whom were mainland tourists. Between midnight and 6:30am on New Year's Day, about 25,000 mainland visitors left the city through various land ports. Although many mainland tourists chose to take a day trip to watch the fireworks, many did stay overnight. According to information from the Travel Industry Authority, about 220 mainland tour groups visited Hong Kong during the New Year's Eve and New Year holidays, involving about 7,200 tourists, with overnight stays accounting for about 72%.
Meanwhile, people from the hotel industry have said that the hotel occupancy rate was over 95% on New Year's Eve and over 90% on New Year's Day, adding that many hotels on both sides of Victoria Harbour were fully booked long beforehand. The Christmas and New Year holidays have always been the peak season for Hong Kong people to travel abroad, and the past two years have seen a boom in people travelling northward to the mainland to spend money. However, people from the local tourism and catering industries have all said that the overall market conditions during this holiday were quite good.
Of course, higher footfall does not necessarily translate into higher revenue. Some people are concerned about the fall in per capita spending of mainland tourists in Hong Kong. Some believe that although inbound tourists increased during the holidays, there were even more Hong Kong people travelling abroad or going northward to the mainland.
Despite the end of the pandemic, the numbers of long-haul tourists from Europe and North America remain stubbornly lower than before due to air ticket prices and reduced flights. The number of Southeast Asian tourists visiting Hong Kong, however, has rebounded near pre-pandemic levels. Attracting mainland tourists to Hong Kong can be achieved together with attracting foreign tourists.
While the government can, through various policies, strive to attract visitors, whether the increased tourist numbers can be monetised will ultimately depend on the efforts of the industry. The operating costs of Hong Kong's retail industry are relatively high due to factors such as rent. For this reason, it should try to work on the quality of products and services so that tourists and citizens feel that they are getting value for money.
明報社評2025.01.02：旺丁靠政策 旺財靠業界
聖誕新年假期，本港市面相當熱鬧，除夕跨年倒數煙花匯演，吸引超過40萬人次在維港兩岸觀賞，無論旅遊和餐飲業界均表示，整體市道較之前一年理想，期望農曆新年假期可以再接再厲。
除夕送舊迎新，全港多區均有倒數慶祝活動，吸引大批市民和旅客參與。尖沙嘴海旁一帶固然擠滿觀賞跨年煙花的人群，西九文化區也是愈夜愈熱鬧，近年失色不少的中環蘭桂坊，入夜後同樣人頭湧湧，餐廳酒吧紛紛滿座。有餐飲業代表稱，今個除夕本港餐飲市道暢旺，全日生意額料比2023年除夕上升約5%至8%。
2023年除夕煙花匯演後，大批內地旅客凌晨經皇崗口岸返回內地，惟巴士服務有限，不少人未能購票，滯留在巴士站和港鐵站等候。特區政府汲取教訓，今回實施特別通關安排疏導跨境人潮，效果亦令人滿意。
根據政府數字，除夕當天有大約15.6萬人次入境，當中內地旅客佔總數77%，至於元旦凌晨至早上6時半期間，則有大約2.5萬內地訪客經各陸路邊境管制站出境。雖然不少內地客都選擇「即日來回」看煙花，但亦不乏「過夜客」。旅監局資料顯示，除夕及元旦假期約有220個內地入境旅行團訪港，涉及旅客約7200人次，當中過夜行程約佔72%。
酒店業界則稱，除夕酒店入住率逾95%，元旦亦逾90%，維港兩岸不少酒店訂房更是一早爆滿。雖然聖誕新年向來是港人外遊旺季，這兩年還有港人北上消費潮，惟本港旅遊及餐飲業界代表皆表示，今個假期整體市道不錯。
當然，旺丁並不必然旺財，有人關注內地旅客在港的人均消費金額下降，亦有意見認為，儘管節日假期入境旅客有所增加，但港人出境外遊和北上人次更多。
疫後歐美長途客受機票價格及航班減少影響，遲遲未復舊觀，但東南亞旅客來港人數已回升至接近疫前水平。吸引更多內地客來港，跟吸引外國旅客，可以並行不悖。
政府可以透過不同政策致力「旺丁」，至於能否「旺財」，始終要看業界的努力。本港零售業因租金等因素，經營成本偏高，正因如此，業界更應設法從產品及服務質素入手，令旅客和市民覺得物有所值。
■ Glossary 生字 /
monetise : to earn money from sth, especially a business or an asset
lustre : the quality of being special in a way that is exciting
do a roaring trade (in sth) : to sell a lot of sth very quickly