Overall unemployment in Hong Kong has increased from 5.2% earlier this year to 5.9% in May, the highest in 15 years, according to government data. Indeed, many Hong Kong employers – even in hard-hit industries such as tourism, food, and retail, where unemployment rose to 10.6% this spring – are taking advantage of government incentives to retain workers. “I think our business may start again next year, so we still keep our staff at the moment,” says Mr. Chan was scouting out potential locations for 'green tourism' as part of an initiative to generate business during the pandemic. Hong Kong travel agent Denny Chan photographs fish ponds along Hong Kong's border with mainland China, with the Chinese city of Shenzhen in the background. The relief package includes slashed taxes on income and profits, and – the centerpiece – the $10,000 cash handout for all residents who are 18 and older. This broke with a pattern of fiscal conservatism, causing the first budget deficit in 15 years. Yet amid a deepening recession caused by the pandemic and social unrest, in February, the government announced a $120 billion stimulus package. The rescue is unusual for Hong Kong, which has long had a laissez-faire market system in which economic growth has taken priority over welfare. The industry is also benefitting from a new cash handout of $10,000 (Hong Kong U.S.$1,290) for all permanent residents, to be distributed beginning in July.Įditor’s note: As a public service, all our coronavirus coverage is free. No paywall. Chan’s in a safety net that combines payments to companies, wage subsidies, and green tourism incentives. The tourism industry is a major economic pillar in the Asian financial hub of 7 million people, contributing 4% of gross domestic product and employing about 257,000 people in 2017.īut Hong Kong’s government has moved to rescue the embattled industry, catching firms like Mr. Visitor arrivals in Hong Kong, which surged in 2018 and early 2019, fell to a trickle of 4,100 in April – a year-on-year drop of almost 100%, as a result of stringent immigration control and quarantine measures in Hong Kong and around the world, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Part 4 of “ One pandemic, many safety nets: A global series.” How do you support people during a pandemic? Hong Kong’s approach to propping up the economy has many facets, but a perhaps surprisingly simple centerpiece: $10,000 (Hong Kong about U.S.$1,300) for every adult resident.
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