Hong Kong’s catering sector registered an estimated 6 to 7 per cent drop in business over the long weekend, according to an industry representative, as potential revenue gains from the 15 per cent increase in mainland Chinese tourists on the first three days of the Easter break failed to offset losses from the 1.7 million outbound trips by local residents.

Industry leaders also said on Monday the trend of locals travelling across the border and abroad during long weekends had become a “new normal”, leaving businesses to rely on mega-events and the coming Labour Day “golden week” to recover their losses.

Immigration figures showed mainland visitors made 331,517 trips to the city between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, a 15.4 per cent increase from the 287,201 during the same period last year.

Hongkongers have a five-day public holiday starting from Good Friday to mark the Easter and Ching Ming Festival this year. By comparison, mainland residents enjoy only a three-day break for the Ching Ming Festival from Saturday to Monday.

Samme Cheng Pak-man, vice-chairman of catering trade body the Institute of Dining Professionals, estimated that revenue over the weekend declined by 6 to 7 per cent year-on-year compared with the same period last Easter, noting that the longer holiday period this year had encouraged more residents to leave the city.

“Whenever there are three or more days of holiday, Hongkongers will travel abroad. With their habit of heading to Shenzhen to spend becoming the new normal, it is only natural for the local catering industry to see a decline in business,” he said.