More than half of group tour visitors spent only HK$200 to HK$300 each on average during the Chinese New Year Golden Week, according to Travel Industry Council executive director Fanny Yeung Shuk-fan.
Around 1.43 million tourists visited Hong Kong during the eight-day Golden Week that ended on Sunday, reaching prepandemic levels observed in 2018, according to the government.
Of those arrivals, over 1.25 million were from the mainland.
Yeung, speaking on radio yesterday, said the city welcomed 66,000 mainland tourists in over 1,980 tour groups, exceeding the council's expectation of 40,000 to 50,000 tourists.
Over 200 mainland tour groups visited each day during the holiday, more than the daily average of about 170 groups in 2019 - but half of the tour groups were one-day tours.
"Of course overnight tourists will spend more as they have to pay for hotels," Yeung said. "For day tours, most of the tourists were from Greater Bay Area cities like Zhuhai and the spending [per person] was around HK$200 to HK$300, which we think is reasonable."
Speaking in the same program, Institute of Dining Professionals chairman Rayman Chui Man-wai said the catering industry did not benefit much from the rise in visitor numbers.
Although mega events like the Lunar New Year Night Parade and Float Display and the fireworks display had attracted mainland tourists, Chui said their spending power was weak.
"Before the pandemic in 2018, mainland tourists usually ordered a table full of food," Chui said.
"But now they are savvy after reading travel guides on the internet - like they will only order a pineapple bun, a cup of milk tea and maybe a piece of French toast for taking photos and then go to the next attraction."
He said the average cha chaan teng spending for mainland tourists dropped to HK$50 to HK$100, from HK$150 to HK$200 in the past.
Yeung said activities like horse racing and the "Chubby Hearts Hong Kong" project attracted tourists.
So she suggested that the government start promoting events at least six to eight weeks in advance to allow travel agencies to plan and promote them to tourists.
Yeung also called on the government to reserve part of event tickets to group tours.
Our Hong Kong Foundation suggested the government launch tourism packages involving hotels and events to make visitors stay overnight.
The think tank has issued a report, saying the sector is facing three problems: tourists do not want to come, they will not stay overnight and they will not revisit.
Vice president and research cohead Ryan Ip Man-ki said the city has to enhance its attractiveness by launching package deals with hotels to save accommodation costs for tourists when they are staying for mega events and festivals.
sophie.hui@singtaonewscorp.com
