Hong Kong’s mass demonstrations continue and are now impacting international flights, with departing flights being cancelled, as anti-government protests hit Hong Kong’s main terminal over the weekend.
Protests have been going on for two months, prompted by a controversial extradition bill.
Countries including Australia, the UK, Ireland, Singapore, the US and Japan have all now issued heightened travel advisories over travelling to the region.
Hong Kong is one of the world's most visited cities, but experts say the disruption is hurting its hospitality sector and the Hong Kong Tourism Board has admitted a “double-digit decline” in the number of visitor arrivals in the second half of July.
“The travel trade has reported that the number of forward bookings in August and September has [also] dropped significantly,” a Board spokesperson added.
John Slosar, Cathay Pacific Group Chairman, has described “a significant fall-off in future bookings over the next few months, particularly for inbound travel”.
Tourism industry contributes around 5% of Hong Kong’s GDP.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) reports that, under its Five Year Advancement Project, renovation of Hall 3FG has been completed on time. "Three concurrent public shows, namely Food Expo, Home Delights Expo and Beauty & Wellness Expo are scheduled to open this coming Thursday and move in has started on schedule today (12 August)," says Monica Lee-Müller, Managing Director of HKCEC's holding group HML.
