Over a decade ago, 48-year-old Jacky Yu opened a Japanese gift shop in Hong Kong. At that time, Mong Kok was a bustling tourist and shopping hub, filled with stalls, street food, and tourists. But fast forward 12 years, today Mong Kok sees fewer visitors, and some businesses struggle to stay afloat, ultimately closing their doors.
Jacky Yu told Reuters that he had to make a “heartbreaking” decision to shut down his physical store and shift to online sales. “Just talking about it makes me want to cry,” he said as he packed unsold stationery and toys into storage boxes. “There are very few tourists on the streets, even visitors from mainland China are scarce.”
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong implemented stringent measures following mainland China, leading to a three-year economic downturn. Many foreigners left, and the number of tourists dropped significantly. High rents and labor shortages have added to the challenges of Hong Kong’s current recovery efforts.
Businesses describe shopping centers as “lifeless,” with little foot traffic, and signs everywhere of shops either “for rent” or “opening soon.”
Last Friday (April 26), Hong Kong lawmaker and accountant Edmund Wong reported to the Legislative Council that over 20,000 companies had deregistered in the first quarter of 2024, a more than 70% increase compared to the same period last year.
Simon Wong, the president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants, told Radio Television Hong Kong that he estimated that approximately 200 to 300 restaurants closed in the past month, a trend he expects to continue.
However, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam downplayed concerns of business closures on Tuesday (April 30), stating that the closures of shops were “inevitable” during the economic transition period and that new businesses would still come to Hong Kong.
Despite Wednesday marking the start of the “May Day holiday” traditionally a busy season for shopping and entertainment, the outlook for many businesses is far from optimistic.
Wendy, a 54-year-old employee at a noodle shop on the Ladies Market in Mong Kok, told Reuters, “I don’t think the Golden Week will be of much help.” She noted, “This street used to have many tourists (before the pandemic) … but now they’re all gone.”
After Hong Kong reopened its borders with mainland China following the pandemic, the Tourism Board recorded a 38.9% decrease in mainland tourists in 2023 compared to 2019.
In 2023, daily spending by mainland tourists dropped sharply by 36.4%, from an average of HK$2,200 per person in 2019 to HK $1,400 since the border reopening last year.
Mr. Li, a 35-year-old burger joint owner in Mong Kok, lamented to Reuters that business has been declining since the border reopening. “After 8 pm, there are no customers, and holidays are even worse, with no tourists,” he said. “We can sit here and sleep for three hours.”