According to the South China Morning Post: Travel agents say demand for Hong Kong tour packages Chinese mainland has failed to take off despite the reopening of the border, while some tourists complain that Hong Kong has lost its advantage as a shopping paradise.
The situation has sparked a debate between Hong Kong's tourism industry, who insists duty-free shopping still attracts mainland tourists, and border counterparts, who urge Hong Kong to change its strategy to attract tourists.
Following the gradual resumption of cross-border tourism in the first two months of this year, the number of tourists exceeded 10,000 in the last month. But this figure is a far cry from the level before the pandemic and the 2019 protests.
Jia Jia, a travel influencer with 10,000 followers on Chinese social media, said Hong Kong's tourism and services industries should rethink their strategy for mainland tourists, adding that their desire to visit Hong Kong has faded in recent years as their perception of Hong Kong as a top tourist destination has waned.
"In fact, many mainland consumers, especially young people, are not even interested in going to Hong Kong to shop because shopping there is not as good as before," he said.
The influencer said that although mainland e-commerce platforms offer goods from the rest of the world at cheaper prices than Hong Kong, travel agencies are still on low-cost shopping tours.
Jia Jia, who oversees trips to Hong Kong, including taking tourists to destinations tailored to their preferences in high-end vans, said the city should focus on attracting young mainland tourists who are increasingly interested in hiking, camping and experiencing international culture.
Che Zong, who runs Changchun Culture International Travel Agency in Changchun, northeast China, said sales of Hong Kong tourism were lower than in other destinations.
"Tourists prefer to choose long-distance tours such as Xiamen, Yunnan and Wuyuan, which are more expensive than Hong Kong routes." Che said.
"There are several reasons for this. First, the negative impression of Hong Kong by mainland tourists has been formed over the past few years and continues to influence their willingness to travel. She said, referring to social unrest in Hong Kong in 2019.
"Self-guided tours are also very convenient, and the products offered by travel agencies to Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao are neither attractive nor competitive," Guevara said.
Wang Ji, an agent for Jilin Yatai International Travel Agency, said the six-day trip to Hong Kong and Macau costs between 3,000 yuan ($436) and 4,000 yuan.
"Compared to long-distance travel routes, going to western China and Southeast Asia is actually not expensive, but it is not popular with tourists." She said.
Li Wang, a mainland resident who used to come to Hong Kong for shopping, said she was shocked and unhappy about her last trip to Hong Kong earlier this month.
"Compared to live e-commerce shopping platforms in the mainland, cosmetics and skincare products in Hong Kong are now much more expensive." She said.
"I bought a bottle of rosehip seed oil in Hong Kong that sold for more than HK$400 ($50), but found the same rosehip seed oil on the mainland for less than $300. I am very upset about this. ”
Chinese social media users have also expressed mixed feelings about the city, with e-commerce app Xiaohongshu featuring a hashtag called "Hong Kong Service Attitude" garnered 18,000 views, including many posts complaining about poor service in the city.
A post titled "Hong Kong service is dead, I won't go there anymore except for business trips" drew more than 200 comments discussing the issue.