Hong Kong’s revamped Temple Street night market draws 1.5 million tourists and locals in 5 months; attraction extended until end of year
- Tourism Board says night market has been well received by both visitors and locals, attracting 1.5 million people after revamp under ‘Night Vibes Hong Kong’ campaign
- Authorities opt to extend initiative by six months, with more food offerings and promotion efforts planned
The Tourism Board said on Friday food offerings and marketing would be stepped up for the 350-metre-long (1,148-foot) strip, while Cantopop singer Wan Kwong would be among those joining the promotion efforts.
The board’s executive director, Dane Cheng Ting-yat, said the market was well-received, with more than 1.5 million tourists and locals visiting as of early April following its revitalisation under the government’s “Night Vibes Hong Kong” campaign in December last year.
“We hope the new phase of promotion with an extended period allows the public more business opportunities to create revenues and boost consumption,” he said.
The Night Vibes campaign was launched to boost both evening spending and tourism after three years of pandemic-related restrictions took a heavy toll on the economy.
Authorities originally planned to open the market for six months, but a positive response to the initiative earlier prompted some stallholders to voice hope it would be made permanent.
The night bazaar is open daily between 2pm and 11pm with stalls offering food and retail goods. Among the popular dishes available are local delicacies such as dim sum, beef offal stew, fish balls, siu mai and “three fried stuffed treasures” – a snack containing green peppers and tofu.
New offerings include handmade lemon tea and tanghulu, or candied fruit skewers.
To further light up the bazaar, more traditional lanterns would be added to cover almost the entire bazaar running between Gansu Street and Jordan Road, the board said.
Keep party going but revamp: call for Hong Kong’s Temple Street as crowds return
As a key part of promotion efforts, the board also commissioned singer Wan to remake a music video of his signature tune “I Love Temple Street”.
Raymond Chan Kam-wing, chairman of the Yaumatei Temple Street Association of Hawkers and Shop Operators, welcomed the board’s decision to add more lanterns, which would bring tourists to other parts of the Temple Street.
“I also hope to create a souvenir street along Temple Street by calling for Hong Kong brands such as Kee Wah Bakery or Wing Wah Cake Shop to wholesale their products to our retailers so that they can transform their offerings and attract more shoppers,” he said.
Chan promised to minimise nuisances to local residents by sticking with the daily closing time of 11pm while cleaning up on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific Airways revealed its latest operating statistics for March. With the help of the Easter holiday and a string of art and cultural activities, Hong Kong’s flag airline carried 1.88 million passengers in March, a 42.4 per cent increase over a year ago.
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This increased the total for the first quarter to 5.40 million, or 55.7 per cent more than the same period last year.
“Looking ahead to the Chinese mainland’s forthcoming Labour Day ‘Golden Week’ holiday period, we are seeing a healthy increase in travel demand from the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong, as well as to regional destinations via the Hong Kong hub,” chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau said.
“We will be increasing our Chinese mainland frequencies to around 200 round-trip flights per week as a group during the golden week to cater for this strong demand.”
Cathay also carried 134,551 tonnes of cargo in March, a 10.5 per cent increase year on year. Between January and March, it carried 356,380 tonnes, an 11.1 per cent increase year on year.
