Press Release
Young people keen to dine together and travel overseas post-pandemic, says HKBU marketing survey
Tuesday, 05 May 2020
With the COVID-19 pandemic showing signs of slowing in individual countries and regions, a survey conducted by the Department of Marketing at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has revealed young people's post-coronavirus plans.
With the current social gathering ban expected to be partially eased after 7 May, more than 70% of the young respondents said that dining out together is what they want to do most after the anti-infection measures have been lifted. On the other hand, nearly 60% of the young people surveyed said they are eager to travel overseas once COVID-19 has been contained, but only 20% think that it will actually be possible this summer.
Conducted by the Department of Marketing at HKBU between 16 and 21 April, the online survey successfully collected responses from 445 citizens aged between 18 and 30. The objective of the survey was to understand their consumption behaviours and expectations after the COVID-19 outbreak has been contained. These findings will enable businesses to formulate effective marketing strategies after the anti-infection measures have been lifted and the pandemic has been successfully contained.
The survey asked participants what they want to do most after the anti-infection measures have been lifted. 71.2% of them chose "dine together", followed by "gym and exercising" (34.8%) and "entertaining activities" (34.8%), while 33.7% of them chose "shopping". For those who chose "dine together", over 60% of them want to have hot pot, while more than half of them would like to eat at Japanese and Korean restaurants.
Dr Henry Fock, Head of the Department of Marketing at HKBU, said that with people expressing an increased desire to dine out, restaurants are advised to make timely adjustments to their food delivery service teams, and they should deploy more floor staff in response to the potential surge in customer demand. However, at the same time, they also need to maintain stringent hygiene and anti-infection measures to protect the health of customers and employees.
With the coronavirus outbreak showing signs of slowing down, around 60% of respondents said they are interested in going on holiday, and buying tourism products, once the pandemic is over. Around 30% of those surveyed were confident that they will be able to travel around the Christmas holidays, while about 20% said that they plan to travel this summer.
In terms of fears related to the virus, more than 60% of respondents worry about the large number of travellers setting off on their vacations at the same time after the pandemic, and over half of them are not willing to pay a higher cost for a trip during the public holidays immediately after the pandemic.
Dr Henry Fock pointed out that even though people are eager to travel overseas, they still worry about the infection risks associated with taking long-haul flights and would prefer destinations with comparatively better outbreak control. He expects that during the upcoming summer holidays, people's willingness to stay in Hong Kong and spend locally will increase substantially. It is very likely that the number of local residents visiting theme parks will hike. "To attract more local customers and boost their spending, members of the tourism industry should put a focus on promoting local tours. Theme parks should consider offering some local residents exclusive promotions. The tourism sector should also plan in advance the hygiene and disease prevention measures for their operations after the pandemic," said Dr Fock.
In the latest Budget Speech, the Government announced the disbursement of HK$10,000 to all Hong Kong permanent residents aged 18 or above, with a view to encouraging and boosting local consumption. Yet the survey revealed that 66.7% of respondents chose to save the money for unexpected needs instead. Regarding the types of concessions merchants can offer to encourage people to spend, most respondents prefer cash discounts, including "buy-one-get-one-free" (78.9%), cash coupons (68.5%), and direct discount (66.7%). Dr Fock said that the survey findings reflect that the overall consumer sentiment in Hong Kong is yet to be revived. He recommended that merchants use this survey as a reference and adjust their marketing strategies according to their own business conditions in order to attract more customers.
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