Travel Industry Council chairman Tommy Tam on Monday said hotel bookings were looking good for the upcoming National Day Golden Week holiday and that he was optimistic about the overall spending atmosphere.

Speaking on an RTHK programme, he said more mainland tourists were expected to visit Hong Kong this year.

This, Tam said, was because of the proximity of the Mid-Autumn Festival to Golden Week this year, which allowed mainlanders to enjoy a 13-day break by taking just three days of leave.

The long holiday is a driving factor behind the travel intentions of mainlanders, he said, adding that the number of visitors to Hong Kong during the Mid-Autumn Festival had been encouraging.

The tourism sector, Tam added, was also optimistic about the travellers’ spending power in the city.

“We believe that various sectors may benefit, such as catering, mid-to-high-end retail like cosmetics and electronic products,” he said.

“Tourists are also willing to book hotels – the booking figures are quite encouraging – and spend on cultural experiences such as workshops and guided tours.”

Tam said many individual travellers might make day trips to the SAR while those joining tour groups could stay in the city for two to three nights.

Even with hotel room prices up by double digits during the holiday, many hotels in popular tourist districts have been almost fully booked from October 1 to October 3, he said.

Meanwhile, smooth operations have been observed at the Po Pin Chau trail in Sai Kung East Country Park, according to New Territories South East lawmaker Christine Fong.

However, despite the trail, which is capped at 2,000 people a day under a real-name reservation trial scheme, being fully booked over the past weekend, around half of the registered visitors did not show up, she said.

Fong called on authorities to consider charging a deposit as a way to deal with this trend.




Edited by Tony Sabine