There have been mixed reactions regarding tourist spending during the Lunar New Year holiday, when Hong Kong saw a surge in visitors.

Figures from the Tourism Board showed nearly 750,000 visitors arrived in Hong Kong during the four-day holiday period. Some 650,000 of them were from the mainland – a higher number compared with the same period in 2018.

Executive Chef Ken Lau of the catering group Lubuds said the surge in visitors benefited his business, with sales at his six high-end restaurants rising by 20 percent over the holiday.

Meanwhile, head of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association Annie Yau Tse said there was a slight increase in cosmetics and jewellery sales.

However, she said overall tourist spending power remains weak, with visitors who go shopping opting for less pricey products.

Professor Mimi Li, an associate director at Polytechnic University's school of hotel and tourism management, said the influx of visitors was promising for the tourism industry, as well as for the catering and hotel industry.

But she warned that changing spending patterns, in particular among mainland tourists, pose challenges for the retail industry.

“Hong Kong used to be a shopping paradise, but during the pandemic, the consumption behaviour of all the population, especially people in mainland China, has changed a lot. They tend not to spend too much money on luxury products, and they tend to shop online… now you can easily get cheaper prices online. You can easily find even more diversified products online or in other countries,” she said.

“So I think this will be a long-lasting challenge for the retail industry in Hong Kong.”