Hong Kong Protests Impacting Travel Industry Badly
Qi Qin | | Oct 02, 2014 07:00 PM EDT |
The Hong Kong protests have made Hong Kong chaotic, with the travel industry being the first industry to be affected, China Economic Net reported on Thursday.
The Hong Kong government's decision to cancel the fireworks display on National Day resulted in the travel industry's losing income from one-day tour groups that traditionally come for the occasion.
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The hotel industry estimated that the occupancy rate for this year has been only 85 percent, which is less than last year's 88 percent. The catering industry said customer turnout in restaurants in the protest areas has been down 30% in the past two days, making them lose approximately more than 10 million Yuan.
If the protests continue to the National Day golden week, it may influence the intention of tourists from Mainland China to travel to Hong Kong.
Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced the fireworks cancellation decision on Monday as the vital communication lines for viewing the fireworks might be affected. The decision was also based on public transportation arrangement and public safety consideration.
Local travel agency's business, especially the firework groups' business, was affected badly. Spokesperson of Yau Ma Tei travel agency said on Monday that there had been more than a thousand people registered for the firework groups. Now they could only inform the travelers to join other groups or to give them refund.
The chairman of Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, Michael Wu, said that the protest brought an inestimable negative impact on Hong Kong. He said several travel agencies from mainland China have inquired about the chaotic situation and he was worried that it may reverse the intention of the individual tourists to travel to Hong Kong, thus affecting the travel industry's income in the golden week of National Day. Wu said, individual tourists cover 80% of the total arrivals, and one-day tourists also account for 30%-40%.
The Hong Kong Inbound Travel Association chairman, Paul Leung, also pointed out that some overseas travel agencies have asked about the security situation in Hong Kong and if it is still available to take overseas travel groups.
Lu Ruian, Board member of China Travel Service (HK) Group Corporation, said the protests are not only affecting the travel industry but all kinds of industries as well. He hoped young people would consider the bigger picture for Hong Kong's more, and to end the chaos as soon as possible to avoid any dire consequences.
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