Expand mainland Chinese solo traveller scheme, Hong Kong tourism leaders say amid Labour Day ‘golden week’ visitor lull

Average of 187,375 mainland tourists visited Hong Kong between May 1 and 3, first three days of five-day holiday

Simon Wong, president of Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, says visitor numbers below expectations compared with pre-pandemic levels

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Tourists visit Central during the Labour Day holiday. Hong Kong welcomed a daily average of about 187,375 mainland tourists between May 1 and 3. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 2:50pm, 4 May 2024Updated: 8:13pm, 4 May 2024

Hong Kong tourism and catering industry leaders have called for more mainland Chinese solo travellers to be allowed to come to the city amid a lull in visitors over the Labour Day “golden week” compared with previous years, despite price cuts at hotels and a fireworks show.

Figures from the Immigration Department showed that the number of mainland tourists who travelled to the city stood at a daily average of about 187,375 between May 1 and 3, the first three days of the mainland’s five-day break.

“We haven’t achieved our target if we compare ourselves to pre-pandemic levels,” Simon Wong Ka-wo, the president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said on Saturday.

“The daily average of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong over the May golden week period used to exceed the 200,000 mark.”

Wong said that the spending power of solo travellers also went down by 20 per cent compared with pre-pandemic times.

“I urge the secretary [for culture, sports and tourism] to discuss with the central government as soon as possible allowing more cities to join the solo travellers’ scheme,” he said. “It’d be better for the food and beverage and retail sectors if more people are visiting.”