A leading tourism representative on Monday urged the government to extend the Night Vibes Hong Kong campaign and beef up promotion further.

Timothy Chui, executive director of the Tourism Association, told an RTHK programme he expects tourist numbers from the mainland during the National Day Golden Week holiday to exceed one million, but that they would still fall short of pre-pandemic levels in 2018.

Chui cited limited flight capacity and intense competition from other mainland cities for visitors.

And as many Hong Kong residents chose to travel to the mainland or abroad, he stressed the need for the tourism industry and the authorities to do more.

"We should extend the Night Vibes Hong Kong campaign as a long-term measure, to attract our residents, and then visitors from the mainland and abroad," he said.

"The existing measures in place are inadequate. Tourists visiting Hong Kong can't expect to watch fireworks displays every day and they don't just visit Hong Kong for the night markets. The authorities should focus on promoting immersive cultural visits through (the social media platform) Xiaohongshu and mainland influencers."

He acknowledged that it will take time for the local tourism industry to fully recover.

Chui's comments came as the first waterfront carnival in Wan Chai to boost the city's after-dark economy was set to draw to a close on Monday after the long weekend.

Wholesale and retail lawmaker Peter Shiu of the Liberal Party said business has been brisk there in recent days, and that similar campaigns can be considered in future, to be held on specific days or holidays.