A hotel representative on Friday said mainlanders had stayed longer in Hong Kong over the New Year period as they enjoyed a three-day holiday this year.

Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, the chief operations officer at Miramar Group, Alan Chan, said the company's hotels in Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai were fully occupied over the holiday and saw room prices surge up to 15 percent compared to last year.

"Most visitors stayed for two nights... A minority of them had been here since Christmas, which was rare in the past, and that might have been because Japan had been replaced as a travel destination."

Chan, who is also a lawmaker, said concerts held by singers Zhou Shen at Kai Tak Stadium and Jacky Cheung at Hong Kong Coliseum were a boon for hotels in Kowloon.

More than half of the audience at Zhou's concerts on December 31 and January 1, were from the mainland, he said, and these fans were willing to dig deeper into their pockets even though hotel rooms had cost more than last year, to celebrate the New Year with the singer.

This, Chan pointed out, might have compensated for the cancellation of the fireworks display, Chan added.

Looking ahead, he expects more visitors, particularly business travellers, to come to the city with the present easing in the Sino-US trade war.

Chan also said that the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, which is currently undergoing an open tender for a new operator and manager, would also help bring in more high-end tourists.

Both business and high-end overnight visitors, he pointed out, are crucial to boosting spending in Hong Kong.