Massive protests injure Hong Kong tourism & economy

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Hong Kong tourism has been one of the most badly hit sectors in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, as escalating confrontations between the police and anti-government protestors have kept the Chinese visitors at bay.

For economy, tourism is the key driving force, accounting for approximately four per cent of the GDP of Hong Kong and employing about 257,000 workers, according to 2017 government data.

“(The) impact on tourism and its related sectors have been deep and negative,” Scott McKnight, managing editor for China Open Research Network, told CTV’s Your Morning.
He observed that the airport was running about 40 per cent less flights at this time of the year in comparison to the year before, and hotel occupancy was about 60 per cent emptier.
“The big cause of this is because mainlanders — that is Chinese from the mainland — account for about three of every four tourists who visit Hong Kong … so the impact has been far reaching.”

Tourism data for September showed a 35 per cent decline in tourists from China in comparison to a year back and a 34 per cent drop in total visitors to Hong Kong, in general.

Visitors from Canada fell 26.2 per cent over the same period.

The Canadian government suggests the travelers to “exercise a high degree of caution” because of the large-scale demonstrations that have become “more frequent and less predictable.”

In recent days, the Chinese-ruled territory witnessed some strong showdowns as police armed with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon clashed with masked protestors throwing petrol bombs and rocks. Some of the most violent disagreements took place in Kowloon and on university campuses.

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