Hong Kong’s struggles continued throughout April with inbound tourism virtually non-existent.
The number of arrivals was down almost 100% year on year with just 4,100, the Hong Kong Tourism Board said.
That compares to 5.57 million arrivals in April 2019.
To put it in perspective it was just enough to fill only one narrow body jet a day.
For the first four months of this year, tourist arrivals are down more than 85% so far.
Government economist Andrew Au Sik-hung doesn’t foresee much improvement until the second half of the year.
"If the global lockdown eases soon, there is a chance we will see an initial improvement in our economy in the second half of this year. It is unlikely we will see a V-shaped rebound. If there is any improvement, it will be progressive."
Mainland Chinese tourists make up about 80% of the overall total but less than 3,000 visited during April.
"As inbound tourism is likely to remain at a standstill until the pandemic is well contained and travel restrictions are gradually eased, the business environment facing the consumption- and tourism-related sectors will remain challenging in the near term," Au added.
