Economy recovers

The tourism sector, among those hit hardest by the pandemic, has also been one of the fastest to recover, with Hong Kong reopening links to the mainland and the rest of the world.

In 2018, the city welcomed more than 65 million visitors, but in 2021, the number fell to about 91,000.However, in January, more than 500,000 visitors arrived, about 71 times the number for the same month last year. In February, the city saw 1.46 million visitors arrive, the first time the number had exceeded 1 million since the pandemic emerged three years ago.

Mainland visitors accounted for 76 percent of the total number of arrivals in February. For short-haul markets excluding the mainland, most visitors came from Southeast Asia, including Thailand and the Philippines, and also from South Korea.

Timothy Chui Ting-pong, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, said: "The recovery in the city's tourism industry has been relatively quick. After all, it was not until February that Hong Kong fully resumed travel with the mainland and overseas countries."

Kenny Sham Ho-ki, Hong Kong general manager at Klook, a travel, leisure and entertainment e-commerce platform founded in the city in 2014, said the number of bookings to the city by overseas users rose by 490 percent quarter-on-quarter from January to March.

In view of the Easter holiday and soon-to-be-distributed consumption vouchers, Sham expects a further rise in local spending this month.

In an attempt to stimulate the economy, Chan, the financial secretary, announced in his budget the issuance of a new round of consumption vouchers with a value of HK$2,500 or HK$5,000($318 or $637). The first round of vouchers, worth HK$1,500 or HK$3,000, will be distributed on Sunday.

Cheung feels that handing out vouchers is a public policy where the rewards far outweigh the costs.

The return of visitors has also boosted the retail and catering sectors.

Government data show that retail sales value in the city rose for two consecutive months, reaching HK$36.2 billion in January, a year-on-year rise of 7 percent.

However, for small retailers such as Peter Tong Tinpang, the recovery has not been fast enough, despite his pharmacy and restaurant in the city's Jordan district registering 10 percent sales growth last month.

Tong said visitors are now more conservative in terms of spending than before the pandemic struck.

On April 5, more than 56,000 mainland visitors arrived in Hong Kong, accounting for 20 percent of inbound passengers, but way below the pre-pandemic level of 80 percent.

Caspar Tsui Ying-wai, executive director of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, said there was room for the number of mainland visitors to rise, as Easter is not a public holiday on the mainland. He estimated the city would see more travelers from across the border for the May Golden Week holiday, which this year runs from April 29 to May 3.

Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said the number of mainland travelers arriving in Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme has yet to fully return to the pre-pandemic level, which has limited their contribution to boosting local spending.

Cheung attributed this lower-than-expected growth to deterioration of the global economy and higher prices and living costs, which will curb people's consumption desire and reduce their level of consumption.

He added that the pandemic has also reshaped living habits and consumption behavior, with numerous activities, including shopping, ordering takeout meals, attending events, and using medical, legal and financial services, shifting from offline to online.