John Lee vows to showcase Hong Kong as ‘city of hospitality’ in push to attract more tourists during ‘golden week’ holiday
- City leader acknowledges ‘new period of economic development’ for Hong Kong and that local businesses have been adapting to shifting demands
- Lee says government will prepare to attract more mainland tourists during Labour Day ‘golden week’ holiday, a five-day break from May 1
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has vowed to bring in more tourists during mainland China’s “golden week” holiday next month and showcase Hong Kong as a “city of hospitality”.
Lee also acknowledged on Tuesday that the city was undergoing “a new period of economic development” and that he was happy that local businesses were adapting to shifting demands and consumption patterns of visitors.
The city leader was echoing a call by a senior Beijing official that Hong Kong should seek and embrace changes.
“We hope we can prepare well for the May 1 golden week holiday and be a city of hospitality, a city of courtesy and a city of good experiences,” he said in reply to a question on Hong Kong’s preparation ahead of the traditional holiday period.
Many mainlanders seize upon the five-day break that begins on May 1 to travel both at home and abroad, and Lee said that the government would actively prepare to host them. The Tourism Board and various sectors had already made preparations, he added.
Hong Kong’s Tourism Board said on Tuesday the city received 3.4 million visitors last month, a 38.6 per cent increase over the year before, with more than 70 per cent – or 2.47 million – coming from the mainland.
The city also recorded a 154.3 per cent increase in the number of visitors in the first quarter of the year compared with the same period in 2023, with 11.2 million visitors arriving in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong expects 11 million border crossings at Easter and Ching Ming Festival
In a keynote speech on Monday to mark National Security Education Day, Xia Baolong, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, expressed confidence in the city’s economic outlook but said it should also seek and embrace changes instead of only relying on its traditional strengths.
He cautioned against using old thinking to solve new problems and urged the city to seek “constant breakthroughs”.
Lee said on Tuesday he had five takeaways from Xia’s remarks, one of them being that the city was going through a new phase of economic development.
1 million mainland Chinese tourists expected in Hong Kong for ‘golden week’
“Hongkongers can always find opportunities amid changes, and break new ground as well as create new miracles,” he said. “[We] should understand major trends and face the changes.”
The city leader praised local business operators in different sectors for grasping new opportunities, noting that they had made plans to cater to changing tourists demands and consumption patterns.
Hong Kong’s retail and catering sectors experienced a lacklustre Easter holiday as the city recorded an outflow of 1.7 million people. Only about 400,000 tourists came from over the border and abroad during the four-day break, which was not a mainland holiday.
Residents have also been heading north to spend since the borders reopened following the pandemic, citing better value for goods and services.
