Nearly two-thirds of visitors in tour groups who visited Hong Kong over the Labour Day “golden week” holiday opted for overnight stays, according to industry leaders, who have called for better crowd control measures and guides to be trained to meet the growing demand for more in-depth travel experiences.
Fanny Yeung Shuk-fun, executive director of Travel Industry Council, said on Wednesday that the city welcomed about 920,000 mainland tourists during the five-day break which began on May 1, with more than 900 tour groups bringing in close to 33,000 visitors.
Among those that came on the tour groups, two-thirds stayed overnight, with most staying for just one night, Yeung told a radio programme. The remaining one-third opted for day trips.
“This was a very pleasant surprise because our estimated figures were quite a bit lower than the actual outcome,” she said.
Yeung attributed the rise to several factors, including the fact that the Labour Day break was the first golden week since the new Kai Tak Sports Park was completed, and also since the city’s panda cubs went on display to the public.
She also noted that the last day of the holiday coincided with the Buddha’s Birthday, which allowed visitors to witness the Cheung Chau Bun Festival.
“I think there’s also the fact that the weather was very good during the golden week this year, so I think we were quite lucky,” she said.
