Hong Kong has fallen into recession as its economy contracted for a second straight quarter after more than four months of protests. The once-common lines of shoppers from mainland China outside luxury stores are gone.
HONG KONG — Steps from Hong Kong’s main tourist strip, Ashfaqur Rahman’s tailor shop usually is a mainstay for tourists dropping in to peruse neatly arranged rolls of fabric and get measured for custom-made suits.Business has nosedived since anti-government protests began in early June in the Asian financial center.
His shop is tucked away in a passage off Nathan Road in the Tsim Sha Tsui district, which teems with luxury hotels and upscale jewelry and fashion boutiques set against the stunning backdrop of Victoria Harbor. Restaurant managers, watch shop owners and jewelry salespeople across the district echoed the sentiment. In jeweler Tiffany’s massive showroom, there were at least 10 salespeople and no customers on a recent afternoon.
Visitor numbers fell by 50% in the first half of October, usually a lucrative time because of a weeklong Chinese holiday. Retail sales fell by a quarter in August, the steepest annual drop on record. Free spending mainland Chinese used to arrive on the weekends to buy the Bulova, Seiko and Movado watches he stocks.
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