Mainland tourists do not stay overnight and spend less during Lunar New Year holidays

Each mainland tourist spent only HK$200 to HK$300 on average and returned the same day of their visit to Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year holiday, said Travel Industry Council executive director Fanny Yeung. 

Some 1.43 million tourists visited Hong Kong during the eight-day Lunar New Year Golden Week, reaching pre-pandemic levels, the government announced on Sunday (Feb 18).

Of those arrivals during the holiday that ended on Saturday (Feb 17), over 1.25 million were from the mainland.

Half of the tour groups did not stay overnight, and each spent around HK$200 to HK$300 during their trip, which was reasonable.

Yeung stated that every time the Golden Week gets closer, the hotel prices increase, and the number of tourists to Hong Kong decreases.

She suggested that the government begin promotion six to eight weeks before the major events to make it easier for travel agencies to plan ahead.

However, the increase in the number of mainland tourists was not able to boost the business of the catering industry.

Raymond Chui Man-wai, chairman of the Institute of Dining Professionals, stated that due to the declining property and stock markets, the income of the locals has decreased, and coupled with locals heading to the mainland after the opening of the borders, it has caused the local revenue to decrease, and it was lucky that it didn't plummet below 15 percent.

Chui noted that although the Lunar New Year events have increased the number of mainland tourists, their spending power has weakened, and he stated that when visiting restaurants in Hong Kong, the tourists have dropped from spending around HK$150 to HK$200 to only spending around HK$50 to HK$100.

And he believes that Hong Kong needs to find its own unique theme to attract more foreign and mainland tourists.