Christmas carols fill the street with joy, and neon and gorgeous decorations create just the right atmosphere. But most of mainlanders aren't concerned about Christmas. They're here to shop.Carrying a big golden Gucci shopping bag, dragging a huge piece of luggage, Miss Wu from Dalian, China, has just picked up the last item on her shopping list, in time to head to the airport for her flight home.

She and her friend surnamed Liu, both in their 20s, had been on a five-day shopping spree in Hong Kong.

"The discount is much lower than last year," Wu said in a tone reflecting her disappointment. The branded handbags are just about 80-90 percent of full price. Some luxury brands don't have discounts at all. Last year, some even were selling at up to 50 percent off, she said, shaking her head.

Still, she spent between HK$30,000-HK$40,000 during the time she was here.

Attracted by the big year-end discount, Wu comes to Hong Kong every year at Christmas to shop for handbags and cosmetics. "The cosmetics I buy at one time in Hong Kong are usually enough to use for half a year," she said.

Unlike Wu who came with a list, another couple from Shanghai takes a more leisurely, relaxed approach - to shopping.

"My two children are studying aboard, we have to find some fun on our own," the husband said.

"I have spent Christmas in Western countries before. It was too quiet, not like Hong Kong, many people in the street, very lively," he said.

His wife had walked into a cosmetics shop in Causeway Bay about half an hour earlier. Her husband sat outside waiting to get the call to go and pay the bill. "We don't have any shopping plan, and no budget," he said. He patted the pocket on his chest, and said, "I brought my credit card, as long as my wife is happy."

Although the discounts may not be as attractive as last year's, mainland tourists are still heating up Christmas shopping in Hong Kong.

Long queues extend in front of luxury brand shops. At a Gucci shop, the manager has to stand outside the shop to limit the number of the customers.

"As far as I know from the latest statistics from the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the number of tourists from the mainland is growing," said David Jones, associate professor of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Polytechnic University.

"The situation is better than last year because the recession has just passed," he said. "It also has brought up hotel prices, compared to last year."

"We have had to raise the price of the package to Hong Kong during Christmas and New Year, just because the hotel prices are going up," said a staff of a travel agency in Shenzhen.

Christmas carols fill the street with joy, and neon and gorgeous decorations create just the right atmosphere. But most of mainlanders aren't concerned about Christmas. They're here to shop.
POST: 2024-11-24