Twice as many mainland Chinese visitors arrived in Hong Kong on New Year’s Day compared with the same day in 2025, with one lawmaker attributing the surge to a three-day holiday across the border this year.
Alan Chan Chung-yee, a legislator and chief operating officer of Miramar Group, also said on Friday that deteriorating relations between China and Japan had driven some mainland travellers to visit Hong Kong instead of Japan.
“To mainlanders, Hong Kong has a better Christmas atmosphere as the festival isn’t big on the mainland. Many visitors have opted to travel to the city from Christmas to New Year,” Chan noted on a radio show.
“We also have mega-events to attract them, making Hong Kong a good replacement for Japan.”
Chinese authorities subsequently urged citizens against visiting Japan “in the near term”, prompting Chinese carriers to cancel their flights to Japan, including on dates covering the Christmas and New Year holiday season.
In mainland China, the 2026 New Year’s Day holiday runs from Thursday to Saturday, with Sunday adjusted as a workday.
