[ad_1]
Hong Kong kicked off a marketing campaign to stimulate its nightlife as officers search to bolster the town’s attractiveness and revive an financial system battered by years of pandemic isolation.
The promotion, referred to as “Night time Vibes Hong Kong,” will function three night bazaars at waterfront places subsequent to Victoria Harbour, Monetary Secretary Paul Chan stated at a televised occasion that included a neon dragon dance and performers on curler blades.
“We hope to deliver households, buddies, and colleagues extra leisure actions at night time,” Chan stated.
The marketing campaign is the newest in a sequence of efforts to showcase the town and encourage consumption, which have to this point fallen flat. Retail spending stays caught in low gear, whereas the surge within the Hong Kong greenback towards the yuan makes the town an costly vacation spot at a time when mainland Chinese language are slicing again on consumption.
Particular occasions might be held in some bars, golf equipment and sights corresponding to Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Eating places and Associated Trades, stated earlier than the official announcement. Purchasing malls owned by main landlords together with Henderson Land Growth and Solar Hung Kai Properties are anticipated to increase their hours of operation till midnight, he stated.
The nightlife promotion, just like the others earlier than it, are simply short-term fixes for an business that’s going through greater structural points, stated senior Natixis economist Gary Ng.
“Hong Kong’s tourism business has improved in latest months, however it’s from a low base and now stalled,” Ng stated.
The result’s a faltering financial system. Development is projected at 4% this 12 months, down from an earlier median estimate of 4.6%, in response to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Gross home product shrank 3.5% final 12 months, its third annual drop since 2019, as the town’s gradual tempo of reopening saved guests away and prompted an exodus of residents. These included efforts to limit nightlife — corresponding to shutting bars, forcing eating places to shut at 6 p.m. and heavy fines for rulebreakers. A masks mandate was solely dropped this 12 months.
As the town reopened, the federal government in February launched Hey Hong Kong, the place some 500,000 free airplane tickets have been distributed to draw guests to the town. That was adopted by Pleased Hong Kong, which included procuring vouchers and different reductions.
Regardless of these efforts, retail gross sales in July have been the bottom for any month since 2011, as soon as 2019-2022 are stripped out — when citywide protests and the pandemic suppressed spending.
This story has been revealed from a wire company feed with out modifications to the textual content. Solely the headline has been modified.