Island destination
Hong Kong islanders got what they wanted -- less and less mainland Chinese coming to Hong Kong to shop. But are they now regretting that decision?
See, Hong Kong used to have that glamorous allure for mainlanders. They would come in droves and buy jewelry and watches and luxury handbags. They would flock to shopping malls in noisy throngs and shove aside regular shoppers while competing for space.
And businesses responded to that. The quaint bakeries and neighborhood meat shops were converted to glitzy storefronts meant to attract the cash-rich tourists who came buying not only flashy labels, but also baby's milk formula. (Remembers the milk scandal in China.)
Well, being aggressive themselves, the islanders started reacting negatively. Soon there was a protest movement that was very vocal and, in fact, quite rude. There would be in your face demonstrations in malls that would target unsuspecting shoppers, and scenes of shouting and hurling of invectives by locals were broadcasted all over.
For their part,the shoppers would be easy to spot, since normally they would carry suitcases where they would dump their purchases in the course of the spree. Some of them were actually retailers themselves, buying in Hong Kong to resell them for higher prices back home.
Well, the islanders succeeded. For the past nine months, the South China Morning Post has reported that the number of mainland visitors has dropped steadily. Last February, it was found that retail sales dropped at its lowest in – trumpets please – 17 years.
This forthcoming Labor Day, which is normally a good time to expect mainland tourists, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong has already predicted that package tour travelers will drop by a whopping half. That's a whole lot for an island that depends so much on tourism and shopping to support its economy.
And the numbers from the retailers also support this. Apple, a normally strong retailer, is reported to have lost sales by 26 percent for the first quarter of 2016, and Burberry has gone down by also more than 20 percent.
This downturn has impacted on the luxury store business, with watch retailer Halewinner deciding to close two stores in Hong Kong while, in the same breath, opening nine shops in Macau, where the tourists are going.
Sounds like Hong Kong is in trouble. The selling point, I would guess, for any tourist destination would be the unique features of that place, and always, always, always, the hospitality of the locals. If one wants to sell your country, you should be prepared not just to take their money, but also to give them value for it.
Otherwise, the target market is going to feel like just like that: a mark, and once hit, will never come back for a repeat performance.
Maybe, the difference in the prices between Hong Kong retail prices and mainland China-dictated prices was enough to compensate for the ill-treatment. But now that alternative destinations such as not only Macau, but also Japan and Korea became available, it was hasta la vista, baby.
Cebu has got to keep this in mind. The initial friendly feel of the place which attracted so many expats is slowly losing ground to the traffic gridlocks, pollution, rising prices and increasing strains on infrastructure. Will Cebu have water 15 years from now? Will choked streets be the norm? Will unregulated overdevelopment be allowed to continue?
Well, all that will have an impact, and Cebu will no longer be a friendly and fun city to visit. We can then watch tourists as they migrate to better master-planned destinations.
This is the challenge for the political leaders now courting our votes. If they are serious about caring for the future of the city, then they better think about how to make things work, such that visitors will want to keep coming back.
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