Vaccine pass already hurting business at struggling Hong Kong restaurants just hours after launch, industry representative says

The launch of the government’s vaccine pass scheme has proved to be yet another blow to Hong Kong’s already struggling restaurants, with one industry representative reporting an immediate drop in revenue and patrons being turned away for failing to comply with the new rules.

Ray Chui Man-wai, chairman of Kam Kee Holdings, which operates 44 restaurants, said his group’s business was already down by 40 per cent following the scheme’s introduction on Thursday morning, blaming the vaccine pass and a newly lowered cap on the number of diners per table for dampening people’s desire to eat out.