Hong Kong has recorded over 471,000 inbound mainland tourists in the first three days of the Lunar New Year break. A tourism industry representative said about 200 mainland tour groups visited the city during the period, representing around two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels.
A total of 471,490 mainland visitors came to the city between Saturday and Monday – the first Lunar New Year holiday since all Covid-19 travel restrictions were lifted last April. Both Sunday and Monday saw over 180,000 mainland tourist arrivals, according to figures kept by the Immigration Department.
Speaking on an RTHK programme on Monday, Timothy Tsui, the executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, estimated that around 200 mainland tour groups arrived in the city each day during the Lunar New Year break, which was about two-thirds of the levels in 2017 and 2018.
He said that a peak of inbound mainland tourists on Sunday was the result of the fireworks display that night. Authorities put on a 23-minute pyrotechnic showcase – costing HK$13 million – that lit up the sky of Victoria Harbour after a five-year break. Over 338,000 people were drawn to both sides of the harbour in witness of the event, according to police figures.
Tsui added that hotel occupancy rates reached 90 per cent during the holiday, with some hotels fully booked.
“We are seeing some hotels in the outlying districts, such as in Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun, reaching maximum capacity,” Tsui said in Cantonese. “It’s obvious that some [mainland] tourists stayed overnight after seeing the firework displays, then they moved on to Macau and Zhuhai.”
See also: Hong Kong rings in Year of the Dragon with Lunar New Year parade, fireworks
Asked about whether the government proposal for an “event economy” would boost tourism, Tsui said that “mega events” would “certainly” bring more mainland tourists to the city and lure them to stay overnight.
Authorities had previously announced that Hong Kong will see over 80 mega events in the first half of the year, including existing annual events such as the Rugby Sevens and the Art Basel, as well as newly-introduced events such as the ComplexCon from California.
But Tsui said that the mainstay of the city’s attraction remained the traditional festival events, for which the authorities should step up assistance.
“The most attractive aspects of Hong Kong to customers are still eating, shopping, and playing; we should have more firework displays and night markets – our most successful events. Also, traditional festivals such as the Dragon Boat Festival, the [Cheung Chau] Bun Festival, and the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, they are the most appealing to guests,” he said.
Extended checkpoint hours
Speaking on the same programme on Monday, Lee Ka-long, the founding president of the Hong Kong Tourist Guesthouse United Association, also said the occupancy rates for the city’s guesthouses were close to 90 per cent during the Lunar New Year break. But he added this year’s income was around 70 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
When asked whether the extended mainland border checkpoint hours had encouraged guests to visit the city without staying overnight, Lee said it inevitably had an impact. But he said most mainland visitors would only stay in Hong Kong for two to three nights.
The Shenzhen Bay checkpoint was opened for 24 hours for five consecutive days during the Lunar New Year holiday to facilitate mainland Chinese travellers. The announcement came after large groups of mainland Chinese tourists were left stranded at Hong Kong’s MTR stations and border checkpoints as they sought to go home immediately after seeing the countdown fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
“The integration of the Greater Bay Area is the trend,” Lee said in Cantonese. “[The extension] makes it convenient for people to leave Hong Kong, as much as it facilitates people to come. Insofar as Hong Kong remains attractive and fun and hospitable, people will always come and go.”
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
