A tourism-sector representative said on Thursday that bookings at small-to-medium-sized hotels are nearly full for the National Day Golden Week holiday partly due to its proximity to the Mid-Autumn festival this year.

Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Timothy Chui, executive director of Hong Kong Tourism Association, said more mainland travellers are expected to head to the SAR compared to a year ago.

With the Golden Week holiday lasting from October 1 to 7, mainland visitors could have extended their break to 13 days had they taken three days off after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Chui said visitors would be staying an average of two nights in the city.

“With the Mid-Autumn Festival falling so closely, travellers do not have to be crammed in crowds coming to Hong Kong on October 1 or 2,” he said.

“Ultimately, we will welcome a greater number of visitors during the period. This will definitely benefit our tourism sector as well as other related industries.”

Chui said visitors were particularly drawn to the Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival at Victoria Park as it has gone viral on social media.

Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, told the same show that he expects businesses to see HK$3 billion pass through their shops between the start of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the end of the Golden Week holiday – with their daily total averaging HK$250 million.

Chinese restaurants may see a surge of 10 to 15 percent in business during the period, he added.

Freeman Cheung, vice president of the Hong Kong Guangdong Boundary Crossing Bus Association, said companies have increased bus services to as frequent as five to 10 minutes from 15 to 20 minutes.

He believes more than 30,000 mainland visitors would head to the SAR via Shenzhen Bay port, adding that firms have stepped up manpower by assigning extra backup drivers.


Edited by Aaron Tam