1.2 million mainland Chinese visitors expected in Hong Kong for National Day ‘golden week’ break
Travel Industry Council also predicts number of inbound tour groups may grow by nearly 10 per cent to 850 over seven-day holiday
The council, a federation of trade associations, also predicted that the number of inbound tour groups could grow by nearly 10 per cent to 850 during the seven-day mainland holiday that starts on October 1.
However, a catering industry representative said the sector might not benefit significantly because of an anticipated large outflow of residents, while businesses were scaling back celebrations amid an uncertain economic outlook.
As well as the golden week boom, the coming months are peak cruise season, with the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau forecasting the year-end number of non-local passengers will surge by about 50 per cent compared with 2023.
Council chairwoman Gianna Hsu Wong Mei-lun on Sunday estimated 1.15 million to 1.2 million mainland visitors would arrive in Hong Kong during the golden week holiday, up from about 1.1 million in 2023.
She said about 30,000 of the mainland visitors could arrive via 850 tour groups, with most spending a night in the city. Last year, 780 tour groups with 26,800 visitors arrived during the break.