Update | Chinese tourists skipped Hong Kong, Taiwan and headed farther afield during Golden Week
Half a billion Chinese hit the road during their weeklong holiday, but they were heading for Russia, the US, Morocco, Tunisia and Tonga
Half a billion Chinese hit the road during last week’s Golden Week public holidays, an increase of 12 per cent from 2015.
The problem for Hong Kong’s economy: these tourists avoided the city in droves.
More Chinese tourists were willing to head farther afield than the usual shopping, eating and gambling hot spots of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, according to government data.
Hong Kong received 9,322 mainland visitors during the holidays from October 1 to 7, 55.7 per cent fewer than last year’s numbers, according to the China National Tourism Administration.
The number of Chinese tourists heading for Taiwan plunged by 69 per cent to 7,915, while visitors to Macau fell almost 62 per cent to 2,338, the data showed.
“Hong Kong continues to suffer from a lack of diversity in activities, besides shopping,” HSBC analyst Erwan Rambourg wrote in a note. “Shopping itself has become a less welcoming experience.
Destinations that attracted Chinese tourists were Russia, the United States, Morocco, Tunisia and Tonga.