‘Golden week’ begins with bang in Hong Kong, but restaurants’ gains ‘limited’

Hong Kong recorded a 13 per cent year-on-year increase in mainland Chinese visitors on the first day of the “golden week” Labour Day holiday, but a lawmaker for the restaurant trade noted that tourists’ shift towards more cautious spending resulted in only “limited” gains for the businesses. Labour Day is a statutory public holiday in Hong Kong and marked the start of the mainland’s five-day break. The first day of the holiday saw a single-day record of about 24.8 million passengers travelling on China’s railway network, according to China State Railway Group. Mainland visitors fanned out across the city on Saturday, with some heading for the countryside in Sai Kung and others opting for “city walks” to explore picturesque locales. Popular hotspots also included Wong Tai Sin Temple, where visitors pasted pure gold foil on a statue of Caishen, the God of Wealth, as part of a 10-day prayer ceremony marking the deity’s birthday. Over in Tsim Sha Tsui, mainlander Yuan Xiangjin and a friend were enjoying the views from the promenade on a day trip. It was her third visit to the city, she said. The 23-year-old from Dongguan city said she was drawn by Hong Kong’s diversity of dining choices and attractions, which she hoped to enjoy without spending more than HK$500 (US$64). “Inclusivity is a major attraction of Hong Kong,” she said, adding that they started the day in Mong Kok before heading to Tsim Sha Tsui, where they visited Kowloon Park and the Cultural Centre. University student Yu Dongdong from Henan province was also on a one-day trip. He paid 80 yuan (US$12) for a 45-minute premium ferry trip along Victoria Harbour, before heading to Shenzhen. “I want to experience and enjoy the scenery on both sides of the harbour,” the 20-year-old said. “This is the first time I have been in Hong Kong and I’m impressed.” Hong Kong immigration statistics on Saturday showed 1.32 million cross-border trips were made on Friday, of which 300,466 were inbound visits. Mainland visitors accounted for 84 per cent, or 251,212 of all inbound arrivals, a 13 per cent increase compared with the 221,758 recorded last year. At the same time, the city recorded 667,124 outbound trips, of which 430,862, or about 65 per cent, were Hongkongers leaving the city. The number of outbound Hongkongers was up 45 per cent from the 296,273 recorded on May 1 a year ago, which fell on a Thursday. Overall, the city recorded a net outflow of 31,652 people on Friday. One area that is proving increasingly popular with arrivals is Sai Kung, with thousands of mainlanders drawn by its natural scenery. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said it issued 300 verbal warnings to people visiting Sharp Island the day before, while also stepping up patrols of camping sites and other areas of the popular Unesco Geopark. Catering sector lawmaker Jonathan Leung Chun said that while Sai Kung had become a “premier destination” for mainland travellers, their spending had become more prudent and revenue gains for traditional restaurants remained “relatively limited.” “Their more cautious approach to spending means that while they bring foot traffic to the city, we must continue to work harder to translate this increased flow of people into a stronger economic boost,” he said. Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said that overall business was up by 10 per cent compared with last year, with some areas enjoying increases of up to 20 per cent. “Mainlanders nowadays want to find more cultural attractions,” he said. “Although they might not want to spend too much on food, their visit to Hong Kong would help the catering business no matter how much they spend.” Miramar Group chief operations officer Alan Chan Chung-yee, who is also a lawmaker, reported a satisfactory occupancy rate of more than 90 per cent at the firm’s two hotels, while the average daily rate rose by as much as 8 per cent compared with last year. Chan noted that authorities had stepped up tourism promotion targeting more distant cities on the mainland, as those residents were more likely to stay overnight in Hong Kong compared with those visiting from neighbouring Guangdong province. The border checkpoints remained busy on Saturday, logging about 232,959 mainland arrivals as of 4pm, up about 11.6 per cent from the 208,790 who had arrived in the city at the same time a day earlier. On the Chinese social media platform RedNote, one user asked, “Would you go crazy if you went to Hong Kong for the May 1 holidays?” The post attracted over 1,300 comments, with some saying queues at border control points lasted for hours, while others noted that conditions improved once inside the city. Another photo that went viral featured huge crowds at a land border crossing, with one user commenting that “it was too tiring to spend an hour simply to cross the border”. Some social media users compared Hong Kong with mainland cities. “The streets and buildings looked old. Payment methods are also not convenient. The Victoria Harbour views are not as spectacular as Chongqing,” one wrote. Others said the city was not as attractive as neighbouring Zhuhai and Macau. The government had earlier said it anticipated about 980,000 mainland visitors during the holiday period, representing a 7 per cent year-on-year increase from last year. Additional reporting by Ambrose Li

‘Golden week’ begins with bang in Hong Kong, but restaurants’ gains ‘limited’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}City records 13 per cent increase in mainland Chinese visitors on first day of holiday, but more prudent spending is affecting restaurants

City records 13 per cent increase in mainland Chinese visitors on first day of holiday, but more prudent spending is affecting restaurants