The success of mega-events under Hong Kong’s “Super March” tourism campaign paints a “promising” picture of the city’s economic future, a leading business insights provider has said, adding that Art Basel had brought in the wealthiest visitors under the drive at an average monthly income of about HK$44,000 (US$5,700). But a lawmaker and economist both warned that the city should avoid becoming overreliant on such fixtures to boost its struggling business sector. MDRi, part of the UK-based Mishcon de Reya Group legal advisory firm, shared its rosy outlook in a report published on Friday. The document included a survey that found an overwhelming majority of respondents believed Rugby Sevens was the event that had generated the highest economic impact throughout the campaign. “The survey reveals promising optimism about Hong Kong’s economic future. Notably, 72 per cent of respondents believe the Super March campaign will invigorate the city’s economy,” the report said. “The successful execution of these events demonstrates Hong Kong’s capacity to host mega-events that attract international audiences and foster economic development.” The poll sought to measure 1,000 respondents’ awareness, participation and feedback for four mega-events last month. The report also showed that this year’s local edition of Art Basel had attracted the wealthiest patrons out of the four events, with attendees having an average personal monthly income of HK$44,323 and liquid assets of HK$2.74 million. MDRi said the art festival reinforced “Hong Kong’s reputation as a major global art centre alongside New York, London and Paris”. In comparison, the average earnings and assets of Art Central patrons stood at HK$40,909 and HK$2.49 million. For ComplexCon, the figures were HK$41,052 and HK$1.31 million, while the Sevens recorded levels of HK$38,177 and HK$2.15 million. According to the survey, 86 per cent of Art Basel attendees rated their experience positively. More than 73 per cent of respondents also praised the quality of the artworks and exhibits, while 85 per cent of interviewees said they would return next year. A breakdown of the data for pop culture festival ComplexCon showed 45 per cent of attendees were Gen Z, referring to those born between 1997 and 2012. Meanwhile, the proportion of Gen Z attendees for the Rugby Sevens was 21 per cent, while it stood at 18 per cent each for the two art festivals. The poll also found that 91 per cent of the respondents consider the Rugby Sevens to have the highest economic impact, after the event’s recent move to Kai Tak Stadium. Lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said she recognised the economic contributions of last month’s mega-events, but noted they were held over a limited time period and that it would take more for the city to retain visitors. “We cannot rely on mega-events to win big. If mega-events could save Hong Kong, there would not be so many empty shops now,” she said, stressing that the city needed to develop a unique selling point and should strive to preserve its history. Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, a senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank, echoed Kong’s comments, adding that while such events had produced immediate economic benefits, the spillover effect was not obvious. “These activities can help with business, perhaps not in an economy-wide way with benefits spanning across districts and sectors, but concentrated in certain areas of the city or parts of the economy,” he said. He also cited the city’s empty shopfronts as “a symptom of the imbalance of economic gains”. Ng said that while the data for Hong Kong’s retail sales in March had yet to be released, he was not optimistic that one month of mega-events could reverse the 12-month straight drop recorded in February. The senior economist said the visits by high-earning individuals were not sufficient to offset structural changes in the city’s changing spending patterns, and that there was no guarantee that the visitors would spend significant amounts during their trips. This year’s Super March campaign was the first held by the city and is part of a raft of government initiatives aimed at attracting long-haul visitors and elevating the city to the global stage through sports, the arts and tourism.