HK govt to reportedly launch new campaign to boost night economy

The Hong Kong government will reportedly launch a major campaign next Thursday (14 September) that aims to boost the city’s night economy after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. This comes as Hong Kong chief executive John Lee said on Tuesday (5 September), before his weekly executive council meeting, that he would unveil the details of how the government would inject vibrancy to its night market and night economy next week.

"The response among the industry is positive that many businesses said they will participate in it. For example, many shopping malls will extend their operating hours and provide various incentives and coupons to bring vibrancy to our night market and night economy," Lee said.

According to SCMP, a government source said that the major campaign namely “Night Vibes Hong Kong (香港夜繽紛)" would be announced by financial secretary Paul Chan at the West Kowloon Cultural District next Thursday.

The promotional effort would be divided into three stages, including the Mid-Autumn Festival in September, Christmas in December and Lunar New Year in February next year, aiming to invite citizens to go out at night and boost the night economy.

It is expected that shops, restaurants, as well as nightlife-supported jobs such as taxi drivers and performers will benefit from the campaign.

According to Sing Tao Daily, people with knowledge of the matter said that while the nature of the campaign would be different from that of the “Happy Hong Kong” campaign, which was launched in April and aimed to provide enjoyment and relaxation for citizens. Apart from introducing “street markets” (夜市), the campaign will focus on bolstering the city's night market and strengthening various economic sectors in the process of recovery.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to the Hong Kong government for more information. 

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In fact, Hong Kong property developers such as Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hang Lung Properties, New World Development and Sino Group are supportive towards the government's latest plan of introducing night markets to boost local economy.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Maureen Fung, executive director of Sun Hung Kai Properties said the group will fully support the government to invigorate the night economy. “Currently, the profit made from evening dine-in services account for more than one-third of the total revenue of Sun Hong Kai's malls. Therefore, performing well in the services at night, or even extending our malls' business hours, can boost both sales for shopping malls and Hong Kong's economy,” Fung said. 

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