Business is booming for Hong Kong's hotels and restaurants this National Day Golden Week as mainland travelers arrive early to stretch the Mid-Autumn break into a 13-day holiday.
According to the Immigration Department, about 1.29 million mainland visitors are expected to visit over the seven-day National Day holiday.
On a radio program on Thursday, Timothy Chui Ting-pong, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, said the tourist arrivals have been holding steady since the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday on September 25, with 160,000 mainland visitors on September 26 alone.
The momentum continued with daily arrivals staying above 100,000 on Monday and Tuesday — a trend Chui attributed to the combined effect of the two holidays.
He added that the occupancy rates at small and medium-sized hotels have exceeded 90 percent in recent days, with many expected to be fully booked on National Day.
Noting that most guests are independent travelers staying an average of two nights, he said room rates at budget and chain hotels have risen by 10 to 20 percent.
Chui explained that with the holiday stretched out, most travelers could avoid the National Day rush, giving the industry a longer and more stable flow of customers.
The reasons mainland travelers opted for Hong Kong during the long holiday, he said, were the convenience of border control for a getaway trip and the recent promotion of the city's new attractions.
Along with improved service standards and the city's fun image, Hong Kong continues to attract new groups of visitors with its unique East-meets-West culture, Victoria Harbour views and shopping attractions, he added.
He also pointed to persistent heavy rain that flooded airports in Thailand, prompting some holidaymakers to choose Hong Kong or the Greater Bay Area instead.
A marked increase in high-speed rail arrivals was also recorded, he said, with West Kowloon station briefly overtaking Lo Wu as the busiest border checkpoint amid a rise in multi-destination trips.
Chui expects Friday to be the peak arrival day and overall visitor numbers to rise about 5 percent year on year, with travelers from medium-distance cities such as Guilin traveling via Guangzhou or Shenzhen because of limited direct tickets.
Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said the catering industry recorded nearly HK$1 billion in business during the three-day Mid-Autumn period, with Chinese restaurants seeing a rebound of more than 20 percent.
Wong is also optimistic about the Golden Week, saying the National Day fireworks display is expected to boost spending, while about 3,800 eateries are offering National Day promotions.
He added that restaurants are stepping up promotions on mainland social media platform Xiaohongshu to attract visitors from far-flung cities such as Lanzhou and Harbin, who tend to stay longer in the city.
Pointing to the narrowing price gap with Shenzhen, he believes the trend of Hongkongers heading north is cooling, with more middle-aged and older people choosing to spend locally. The key for the industry, he stressed, lies in food and service quality to compete with Greater Bay Area cities.
According to the Immigration Department, Hong Kong recorded 112,153 arrivals and 90,225 departures by 10am on Thursday, with mainland visitors making up about 74,515 of the arrivals.
During the seven-day Golden Week, all control points are expected to handle about 7.44 million passenger trips, with 6.31 million of them by land. The busiest outbound day is expected to be Saturday, while Sunday (Oct 4) should see the most arrivals.
Notably, Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Shenzhen Bay control points are expected to be the busiest checkpoints, handling about 220,000, 190,000 and 150,000 passenger trips a day respectively.
MTR services will be strengthened from September 30 to October 7, while additional high-speed rail trains will run between West Kowloon and designated mainland stations.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge shuttle bus and the Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle bus will increase their frequencies during peak hours to an average of one minute to two minutes, respectively.
Commuters are encouraged to use the HKeMobility mobile app, which provides real-time traffic snapshots of both inbound and outbound vehicle plazas at the HZMB port.
Travelers can also check traffic conditions and clearance plaza status at the Zhuhai port through the Transport Department's official WeChat account.
The Security Bureau's one-stop "Checkpoint" platform also offers the latest information on all control points.
Authorities urged the public to follow traffic news on radio, television, the Transport Department's website and HKeMobility, with updates also broadcast at major stations and checkpoints.
