Hong Kong's tourism industry is experiencing its sharpest downturn since the 2013 SARS outbreak, in the wake of mass anti-government protests that recently descended into violence.
Following a modest decline in occupancy and room rates in the first half of 2019, the city's hotel market is experiencing a full-blown crisis. A 5 percent year-on-year drop in tourist arrivals in July rapidly became a 40 percent plunge in August, according to data from Bloomberg.
Furthermore, tourists from mainland China - who usually make up 80 percent of arrivals - dropped 73 percent year-on-year in August, and fell 90 percent in the first 10 days of September.
