Hong Kong’s Economy Shows Signs of Recovery with Surge in Tourism and Consumer Market

Opinion Hong Kong Newsletter:On May 8, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, stated in his blog that the “Happy Hong Kong” event has brought a happy atmosphere, and the return of tourists is beneficial to the consumer market. In the first quarter of this year, the total revenue of restaurants surged by 82% year-on-year to 27.56 billion Hong Kong dollars, the highest level in more than three years; the value of retail sales in the same period also increased by 24% year-on-year, which was above the level of 30 billion Hong Kong dollars per month for four consecutive months from December last year to March this year. Benefiting from the recovery of inbound tourism, exports of services rose by 16.9%. However, Chen Maobo pointed out that the overall export of goods recorded a decline of 18.7% in the same period, so that the economy in the first quarter only grew moderately by 2.7% year-on-year.

Chen Maobo said that Hong Kong’s economic recovery is still in the initial stage, and the strength needs to be strengthened. If the external market conditions do not deteriorate sharply, Hong Kong’s economy is expected to further improve this year with a series of measures to support domestic demand and the continuous improvement in the import and export of goods in the Mainland. I believe that Hong Kong’s economy will improve quarter by quarter, and this year will be better than last year.

In addition, Chen Maobo also mentioned that many of the activities of “Happy Hong Kong” go deep into the community. The SAR government and regional partners must be people-oriented, seek truth from facts, grasp the pulse of the region, and actively and patiently plan and promote regional development. , to implement the people’s livelihood and community management work.