Businesses expect disappointing Mid-Autumn Festival

Representatives of the catering and hotel industries on Monday said they are bracing for a slow Mid-Autumn Festival, with many expecting a decline in revenue. The three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday on the mainland began on Sunday, with the National Immigration Administration expecting an average of 1.8 million inbound and outbound passenger trips each day. Alan Chan from the Miramar Group said he expects the occupancy rate for the group's two hotels in Hong Kong to reach over 90 percent. But he said they have had to reduce room rates and offer discounts being as many mainlanders have opted to travel elsewhere. “Many countries have implemented visa-free travel for mainland China. There are dozens of countries that have visa-free travel. The mainlanders are not necessarily coming to Hong Kong. The numbers coming to Hong Kong haven't shown that much growth," he said on an RTHK radio programme. Chan added that a strong Hong Kong dollar also makes travelling to the SAR less appealing. On the same programme, Leung Chun-wah, the chairman of the Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management, said restaurants saw a 10 to 15 percent drop in business over recent weekends, compared to the same period ahead of last year's Mid-Autumn Festival. “The economy isn't doing well, so people are spending less. We haven't really raised prices this year. But the average spending per person was around HK$400 last year, while this year it's only HK$300 to HK$350. That’s how our overall revenue has dropped,” he said. Meanwhile, Hong Kong Disneyland said its three hotels are currently at 80 percent occupancy for the National Day Golden Week holiday next month, which is an improvement on last year.