Hong Kong’s hospitality and catering sector looks bleak during mid-autumn holiday period

Hong Kong’s hotel and restaurant industry is likely to struggle during the Mid-Autumn Festival period, industry experts say, with one hotel chain slashing prices by as much as 20 percent to keep up with falling room occupancy.

Representatives from both sectors on Monday attributed the gloomy outlook to the strong Hong Kong dollar, which makes the city less attractive to mainland Chinese tourists, and the shorter holiday season.

This year, the continent’s mid-autumn break lasts three days, up from eight last year. Back then, the festival fell just two days before National Day on October 1, making it a longer holiday period.

Alan Chan Chung-yee, chief operating officer of Miramar Group, which owns two hotels in Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay, said business had been weaker this year, prompting the chain to cut room rates by 10 to 20 percent.

“We need to maintain the occupancy rate and the only thing we could adjust was the hotel price… Bookings are coming in much slower than last year because tourists may be looking at Hong Kong as a backup plan in case they can’t travel elsewhere,” he said.