HOTELS and tour operators in Hong Kong are feeling some impact from the Occupy Central protest that began yesterday at the Central Government Complex (CGO) in Admiralty, ahead of the intended date on October 1.
The police cordoned off access to CGO while protesters blocked traffic flow on Gloucester Road and Harcourt Road. The situation became chaotic around 18.00 when the police used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
Uni Asia Tours managing director, David Luk, said: “We initially thought only Central would be affected, but it’s a different story now and nobody knows which part of the city would be next affected.
“We don’t have emergency plans except advising clients to avoid those affected areas. So far, we have only received requests from clients who want to move from the hotel in Causeway Bay to other less affected areas.”
Holiday World Tour managing director, Paul Leung, added he would not take groups to crowded areas like Mongkok and Causeway Bay.
“It’s still safe to visit the city as protesters are adopting a peaceful and non-destructive approach. However, I do worry how international media like CNN interprets this issue as their coverage may influence visitors’ impressions.
“October is our usual peak season and we haven’t heard of any cancellations yet, since the incident only just happened yesterday.”
Hong Kong Tourism Board is handling visitors’ enquiries and disseminating information to its in-town visitors through visitor service centres, while updating the trade on traffic arrangements.
At press time, Metropark Hotel Wanchai had only received two cancellations.
However, the hotel’s general manager, Evan Chiu, said: “We expect more cancellations if the situation becomes worse. As groups of people increased around our hotel, we closed the wine and pinchos bar The Parlor and the main entrance until 08.00 this morning.”
Another hotel in Wanchai also closed its front gate when the tear gas was deployed.
Predicting that the situation may last for a few more days until October 3 because of the holidays, its spokesperson said: “We are advising our guests to take the taxi to the airport, instead of the MTR. Our F&B is affected as we have received cancellations of bookings for National Day dinner due to concerns about the traffic.”
