Hong Kong to mark Valentine’s Day with few Covid curbs left, but will business bloom for florists and other vendors?
- Vendors say while more love birds are celebrating over the weekend and requesting flowers earlier, ‘men always order at the last minute’
- Some customers in new relationships are splashing out thousands of dollars on bespoke goods such as 99 roses or dozens of hydrangeas
Hong Kong company executive Antony Wong plans to treat his girlfriend to her favourite cuisine, Korean, to celebrate Valentine’s Day on Tuesday but a romantic candlelit dinner is off the menu.
Wong, who works for a packaged foods firm, had considered splurging on a fancy dinner with fine wine for his girlfriend of more than a year, but keeping a tight rein on the purse strings made him opt for a more low-key and wallet-friendly option.
“It won’t be the most romantic, but if the food’s good, it’s hard to see how we won’t both go home happy,” the 37-year-old said on Saturday.
“I’m afraid last-minute planning is generally my MO [modus operandi]. I suspect I’m not the only partner who perpetually finds themselves in these situations.”
Vendors the Post spoke to said more love birds were celebrating over the weekend and requesting flowers earlier, as the city marks Valentine’s Day for the first time in three years with few pandemic restrictions remaining.
