Mixed results for businesses on Winter Solstice

A restaurant sector representative on Friday said he expects business on Friday's Winter Solstice to be 10 percent higher than last year. "We call bookings from 6pm to 8pm the first round of meals, and they are all full," Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management chairman Leung Chun-wah said on an RTHK programme. "Since they are full, we ask people to come back for the second round from 8pm to 8:30pm. But many are reluctant to do so, and would rather not book at all. Before the pandemic, we could usually do two rounds of business." Leung said that as well as fewer people going out at night, a shortage of manpower is also having a big impact on business. At Kowloon City Market, a chicken vendor said business was down by half compared to last year. She said she believes more people are going out to spend money this year. A vegetable vendor said business was similar to last year, but worse than during the pandemic. She said more people have been buying vegetables for hot pot because of the cold weather. A customer said she felt the market was very quiet and in the past, she had to queue up for a long time to get served. She added that she never looks at the prices, and plans to spend about HK$4,000 on chicken, pork, goose and fish.