Hong Kong’s ‘golden week’ fireworks flop prompts industry veteran to urge authorities to manage tourists’ expectations better
- Hong Kong Tourism Association’s Timothy Chui says some mainland Chinese visitors felt let down by event marking Labour Day ‘golden week’ break
- City welcomed more than 180,000 travellers from across border on holiday’s first day, but some take to social media after feeling ‘scammed’ by quality of fireworks display
A Hong Kong tourism industry veteran has urged authorities to better manage visitors’ expectations after some mainland Chinese travellers expressed disappointment over a fireworks display to mark the Labour Day “golden week” break.
Official figures published on Thursday show more than 180,000 travellers from across the border headed to Hong Kong on Wednesday, the first day of the break.
In an effort to welcome mainland visitors, the city’s Tourism Board promoted the fireworks display, which cost about HK$1 million (US$128,000), as part of a raft of events to celebrate the holiday on the mainland.
Organisers opted to go ahead with the event on Wednesday night, despite earlier concerns about the rainy weather.
Hong Kong Tourism Association executive director Timothy Chui Ting-pong told a radio programme on Thursday that the number of incoming mainland tourists recorded on Labour Day was quite satisfactory, but said some were left disappointed over the pyrotechnics.
Some users on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu complained that they could only see thick clouds of smoke during the event, with one saying they felt “scammed”.