Consumption, tourism lift HK jewellery sales
Hong Kong's retail sales of jewellery and other luxury items rose considerably during the first four months of the year on the back of continued improvements in consumer sentiment alongside enhanced tourist arrivals.
January to April data showed an 84.4 per cent jump to HK$19.77 billion (about US$2.5 billion) in jewellery sales while April figures were up 75.2 per cent to HK$5.26 billion (around US$671 million), the city’s Census and Statistics Department reported.
Overall sales representing all retail categories increased by 15 per cent to HK$34.71 billion (around US$4.4 billion) in April and by 21.7 per cent to HK$137.53 billion (approximately US$17.54 billion) from January to April.
Tourism numbers meanwhile showed hefty improvements, with 2.9 million people visiting the city in April 2023 compared to 4,692 last year. From January to April this year, tourist arrivals reached 7.3 million from 16,182 a year ago.
The government said this revival in inbound tourism as well as stronger local consumer demand should continue to support the retail sector. Hong Kong is also set to disburse the second tranche of its consumption vouchers in July, which could further bolster retail sales.
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