Cross border coach operators will increase their frequency of services by 20 percent over the Lunar New Year holiday, the Hong Kong Guangdong Boundary Crossing Bus Association said today.

Vice chairman Freeman Cheung told an RTHK radio programme that he expects the city to see the highest number of Hongkongers heading north on Thursday and Friday, while the number of travellers returning from the mainland is expected to peak on Sunday.

“Usually, cross-border coaches are less than 50 percent full. But during the Lunar New Year holiday and other festivities, this can rise to 80 percent - or even 100 percent,” he said.

Cheung welcomed the government's decision not to operate border checkpoints beyond the usual hours during the period, as he expects there will only be a slightly higher flow of tourists on the second day of the holiday due to the fireworks display.

He believes by arranging more coaches at hotspots such as Wan Chai, West Kowloon and Prince Edward an hour after the fireworks show – which he expected to be the peak period of travellers heading home – they would be able to divert the flow of visitors.

He also said the move would allow operators to allocate more resources for the rush hour during the daytime.

Speaking on the same programme, local florist Yeung Siu-lung pointed out that business had improved by 10 percent compared with the same period last year.

He said he had not raised prices in recent years amid the poor economy and inflation.

Apart from selling orchids at the Victoria Park flower market, he also grows and sells them in Yuen Long.

“The people who buy more flowers tend to drive, and they get pots. Why do I say business is up by 10 percent this year? It's because the old customers have recommended the market to new customers. There are more unfamiliar faces,” he said.

Yeung also said that there was a need to boost sales to make customers happy on the final full day of the market, before it closes tomorrow morning.