Number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong falls for ‘first time since handover’

The number of mainland tourists who came to Hong Kong in the first five days of the Lunar New Year public holiday fell this year for the first time in nearly 20 years, the head of the Travel Industry Council says.

Immigration Department figures showed that 675,155 mainlanders entered Hong Kong during the five days from Wednesday to Sunday, down 0.16 per cent from last year.

By contrast, the 676,297 mainlanders who visited Hong Kong in the same period last year represented a 13.7 per cent jump from 594,302 in 2013.

The latest figures have shocked experts in the retail and tourism industries, who attributed the decline to a recent spate of protests against mainland visitors. They also said many mainlanders now prefer Japan and Europe because currencies in those countries have been weak compared to the yuan.

A drop in mainland visitors would hurt Hong Kong's retail sales and tourism, some analysts said. "It is the first time I have seen a drop during the Chinese New Year. That is due to a series of protests against mainland visitors. Some of them have given up on Hong Kong," said Joseph Tung Yao-chung, who has been executive director of the Travel Industry Council since 1997.

Tensions between Hongkongers and mainlanders have been escalating for years as city residents accuse visitors from the north of snapping up daily essentials such as powdered baby milk formula to such an extent that it has become either difficult to buy or prices have soared.

Earlier this month, more than 100 people protested at the New Town Plaza in Sha Tin, chanting "mainlanders go back to the mainland". Another protest is planned for Sunday in the border district of Yuen Long against the multiple-entry arrangement for Shenzhen permanent residents.