January 9, 2023

For Hong Kong's business communities, the border reopening with the Chinese mainland is widely deemed as the "biggest New Year's gift" in three years. The city's economic pillars, such as retail and tourism, are ready to welcome an influx of visitors from the mainland, which is expected to inject much-needed vitality into the ailing economy, although the road to recovery may be slower than expected.

Andy Lee, a manager in a fine-dining restaurant in Hong Kong's Central District, said he had received floods of reservations from visitors from the Chinese mainland, after the government announced that the border would reopen on Sunday.

"We have the whole of January fully booked out. Eighty percent of all reservations are for after the first three days of the Chinese New Year [which falls on January 22], which is much more than the same period last year," Lee told the Global Times on Monday.

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https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202301/1283497.shtml