“Substantial part of the growth was driven by transit tourists and those who visited on student visas”, Simon Kwok
Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd saw its retail sales plummet by 10.4 percent year-on-year in Hong Kong and Macau during the National Day golden week holiday season.
Simon Kwok, chairman and chief executive officer of the group, said that “according to data from the Hong Kong Immigration Department, the number of mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong recorded a slight year-on-year increase of 2.3 percent during the National Day golden week holiday.”
Despite this, he continued, “the local retail market failed to benefit as a substantial part of the growth as it was driven by transit tourists and those who visited on student visas.” The CEO further suggested that there were indications that “mainland tourists were attracted by destinations other than Hong Kong” as the number of outbound visitors from China had grown substantially more than the 2.3 percent recorded in Hong Kong.
Mr Kwok cited China’s leading online travel agency, Ctrip.com, who measured Hong Kong’s ranking on the list of the season’s most popular tourist destinations amongst Chinese tourists, stating that the city slipped from first place (2014) to fourth place (2015). “The group expects that tourism and retail industries in Hong Kong will no longer be driven by long holidays in China unless there are substantial measures taken to improve the competitiveness of tourism in Hong Kong.”
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