Entering July, the Travel Scenic Spot Network (http://www.51ttw.cn/) officially kicked off the annual Hong Kong summer shopping season, igniting the enthusiasm of the island city residents to go shopping. Reporters learned yesterday from China Travel International (Shandong) Travel Service Co., Ltd. that due to the impact of the H1N1 flu epidemic in the area for a period of time, the Hong Kong tourism market has been relatively quiet. However, with the summer shopping promotions and hotel price reductions in Hong Kong, since July, the number of tourists from the island city traveling to Hong Kong for shopping has surged by 20% compared to May and June.
Cheap genuine goods attract attention
"Now the travel agency fees are very low, and there are promotional activities everywhere in Hong Kong. I bought a lot of gold jewelry and cosmetics in Mong Kok to bring back as gifts for relatives and friends. The gold jewelry is about 30% cheaper than buying in Qingdao, and the famous brands among cosmetics, clothes, and handbags are more than 50% cheaper than in Qingdao. Calculated down, the price discounts enjoyed when buying these things are higher than the travel expenses," Ms. Liu, a citizen working in the financial industry, told reporters. In the tour group, there were not few such astute shoppers like her because most members of her tour group returned with large and small packages, which were mostly international brands from the packaging bags.
It is understood that Hong Kong has two major discount seasons each year: one is the summer shopping season, from late June to September; the other is the winter shopping season, from late November, Christmas, New Year's Day until early next January. Both discount seasons are city-wide, with the most styles, complete sizes, and good discounts, so they attract a large number of shopping enthusiasts from the mainland. "From our summer vacation Hong Kong tour group situation, half are family tours mainly featuring Disneyland, and the other half are Hong Kong independent travelers mainly for shopping." Cheng Jing, General Manager of the Outbound Center of China Travel International (Shandong) Travel Service Co., Ltd., introduced to reporters that the summer vacation has always been the peak season for Hong Kong tourism and shopping. However, this year, due to the dual impact of economic downturn and swine flu, the Hong Kong tourism market has been declining. "To attract more mainland tourists to shop in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Tourism Development Bureau has prepared discount booklets for visitors to Hong Kong. Coupled with various discount activities locally, it will stimulate more island city tourists to travel to Hong Kong," Cheng Jing said that the Hong Kong tourism market in the island city would continue to recover in August.
Big discounts ignite the proxy purchase industry
"I used to help my friends bring things back from Hong Kong every time I went there. Later on, I would also post on some familiar forums, helping some forum friends with proxy purchases, earning a margin. Most importantly, it satisfies my desire to splurge every time, and I feel great when I buy a bunch of stuff on credit," Miss Wang, who runs a Hong Kong proxy purchase store on Taobao, told reporters that with the continuous appreciation of the RMB, it becomes more cost-effective to buy things in Hong Kong, and she took advantage of this crazy discount season in Hong Kong to stock up on plenty of goods at much lower prices, making it a good opportunity to make money.
"In fact, Hong Kong proxy purchases can be quite tiring. Shops like SaSa and Choysa may run out of stock during sales, so I have to drag a suitcase from store to store to find them," Miss Wang introduced to reporters that SaSa is almost a "must-visit" place for all female compatriots when they arrive in Hong Kong because it has become synonymous with cheap branded cosmetics, so it is often crowded. "In SaSa, the price of French cosmetics Estee Lauder is 7~80% of the Hong Kong Estee Lauder counter, equal to 6~70% of the mainland counter, and now if you use a UnionPay card, you can enjoy an additional 95% discount," Miss Wang told reporters that if the goods she brought back this time sell well, she will head to Hong Kong again in August to look for more goods.
Hong Kong hotel prices drop by 30% year-on-year
With the peak season for Hong Kong tourism and shopping approaching, local hotels have started low-price promotions to attract more tourists. Reporters learned yesterday from Ctrip.com that many Hong Kong hotel prices have dropped by about 30% on average compared to the same period last year, reaching a low point in recent years. At the same time, many hotels have launched promotional activities such as free room upgrades and cash discount coupons. The Hong Kong Tourism Development Bureau has also teamed up with the tourism industry to prepare a series of discounts for tourists, making it extremely valuable for mainland tourists to travel and shop in Hong Kong this summer.
Reporters found through a travel website query that the prices of most Hong Kong hotels have not risen recently, and some hotel prices have even decreased. A five-star hotel's superior room in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, dropped from 1100 yuan to 880 yuan. Another four-star hotel's weekend standard room price dropped from 792 yuan to 654 yuan, and the non-weekend price dropped from 682 yuan to 600 yuan. A three-star hotel's weekend standard room price in Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon, dropped from 440 yuan to 352 yuan; the non-weekend price dropped from 385 yuan to 330 yuan. According to data from this travel website, Hong Kong hotel prices in August are still falling.