Hong Kong tourism hit by anti-mainland China sentiment as tour groups stay away

Anti-mainland China sentiment and the death of a Chinese tourist in October have caused of drop of 20 per cent in the number of mainland tourist groups to Hong Kong so far this year, according to Jason Wong Chun Tat, the new chairman of the Travel Industry Council, which represents roughly 8 per cent of total mainland visitors.

Overall visitor arrivals from China, which include both individual tourists and tour groups, fell only 0.2 percent in the first 10 months this year, a much smaller decline than the 20 per cent dip in groups for the same period.

Wong blamed the sharper decrease largely on the anti-parallel trading protests earlier this year and the death of a mainland tourist, which he said triggered stricter regulations on “no charge tours” by mainland authorities.

In October, a Chinese tourist died after he was allegedly beaten unconscious by four men while trying to mediate a dispute between a fellow visitor and the tour group leader.

Compared to individual tourists, tourist groups focus more on shopping, as they have certain schedules for visiting retail stores, such as jewellery, drug and electronics stores.

“It’s normal that the number of groups declined more than individual visitors” said Cinda International associate director Hayman Chiu, adding the individuals are not subject to the recent crackdown by mainland authorities.