Night Vibes Become Quiet Vibes

Not much activity happening at the Wan Chai waterfront

The Hong Kong government's "Night Vibes" campaign, with evening bazaars in various parts of the city has already fizzled out, as Temple Street is seeing far less crowds than when it started back in January. 

Originally it was launched by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po to entice visitors and locals alike to spend in the city, but the initial wave of interest has already faded and people aren't coming back.

It seems the government has very little idea of how to promote the city, let alone the logistics of putting these events together. If they don't know how much electricity is needed to power up food stalls and prepare for adverse weather conditions, then how will the authorities be able to handle mega events?

Chan launched the campaign last September

A local businessman who asked to be anonymous was frustrated at how the Wan Chai bazaar was organised last September when the power was cut and some stalls struggled to serve hot food, while others could not collect electronic payments. 

"That's the thing, they talk, talk, talk, but have no idea how to do it," he said.

"They should hire professional companies if they want to organise a great market for Hong Kong because, from the way they handled it, it doesn't even feel like they cared."

Indeed -- the authorities haven't even bother to measure how many visitors attended "Night Vibes" or recorded feedback; Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun dismissed the need to analyse attendance numbers, saying it was more important to look at the social impact.

Perhaps it's because they just wanted to tick Night Vibes off their "to-do list" and not be held accountable for how they spent taxpayer dollars?

Interest in the night bazaar has fizzled out

But lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said it was necessary to look at the numbers in order to learn from mistakes and improve the next time.

"These things are necessary so we can properly monitor, assess, learn from the experience and avoid repeating mistakes," she said. "If things don't work out, that's fine. It's not that we want to blame authorities for trying something new."

She added: "The problem now is that we never do any reviews, so we keep doing the wrong thing once, twice, and a third time."

Kong's other piece of advice was for the government to listen to the public.

"If you want to gain the trust of Hongkongers and increase their happiness, public engagement is very important," she said.

Unfortunately that's not what motivates government officials these days, but rather praise from Beijing. Yet another sign of how things operate in Hong Kong...

Trying to Revive the Restaurant Industry

The revamped Temple Street market attracted massive crowds

The Hong Kong government is doing its part to save the restaurant industry by giving away HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) in HK$100 vouchers to the public, but one industry leader says this is but a "small Christmas gift" for the sector.

The first batch of coupons will roll out on Wednesday, with the second batch on January 10. 

But Simon Wong Kit-lung, a lawmaker and chairman of the Quality Tourism Services Association says the vouchers are hardly useful for both the diner and the restaurant.

Anyone want a HK$100 dining voucher?

"I do not think residents would make special arrangements to go out and dine solely because they want to use the vouchers, or change their travel plans and stay in Hong Kong for Christmas," he said.

A HK$100 voucher ain't much, considering how much it costs to eat out these days, it really isn't much of a motivation.

Instead, Wong said the government should do more to attract more residents from Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area to visit Hong Kong as the city has become more "quiet".

He suggested reviving the multiple-entry permit, but it was suspended in 2015 when Hongkongers complained about parallel traders taking advantage of this permit and making numerous crossings daily to buy goods in Hong Kong to sell across the border.

Fish balls to Turkish coffee at Temple Street

Meanwhile nowadays Hongkongers are going up north to Shenzhen to spend their money to eat because it is much cheaper, there's more variety and lots to do and see.

Or maybe the government should take a page out of the recent Temple Street revamp which saw a massive crowd of people on the first night on Friday.

There are 32 food stalls, selling items from fish balls to imitation shark fin soup, and even French-style rack of lamb. 

People will check it out for the first few weeks, but if there aren't other new things to try, then it won't be sustainable for long...