A Catastrophic Drop in Tourism Haunts Hong Kong in the New Year
In the wake of protests and a deepening recession, workers fear for their jobs as shops and restaurants are starved of revenue from visiting mainlanders.
A sampan sails toward the Jumbo Floating Restaurant at the Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelter in Hong Kong on Jan. 17.
Photographer: Justin Chin/Bloomberg
Ho Siu-ying, 76, who has been piloting her tire-ringed, wooden sampan to the iconic Jumbo Floating Restaurant in Hong Kong’s Aberdeen harbor for 35 years, has never seen such hard times. Normally, ferrying diners back and forth nets her $13 to $26 for a day’s work—enough to live modestly in public housing with her daughter and even take an occasional leisure trip to the Chinese mainland. But with a catastrophic drop in tourism caused by seven months of civil unrest, she frequently goes home empty-handed. “A lot of days I’m working for no pay,” she says, leaning back to let out an unusually cheerful laugh that causes the wrinkles around her eyes to crease and conceals her concern, which she shares in a quieter voice. “I’m honestly very worried right now because I’m using up my savings.”
Jumbo—whose red and gold, Ming Dynasty-styled exterior has appeared in many movies and has been visited by notables including Tom Cruise and Queen Elizabeth II—dismissed about 60 employees, or almost half its staff, in early January. The restaurant has cut back its hours and is now closed on Mondays.