Industry figures hailed Hong Kong's strong performance during the National Day Golden Week this year, saying visitor numbers, longer stays and changing spending patterns point to a healthier, more diversified tourism recovery.

Their remarks came after visitors arrivals to Hong Kong for the period surpassed government projections.

Speaking on RTHK's Backchat programme on Thursday, Fanny Yeung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, said the city saw a growth in tourists numbers during the holiday, especially mainland visitors.

"From the 1st to the 7th of October, we received over 1.6 million visitors and there are approximately over 1.4 million mainland visitors, so the daily mainland visitors arrival averaged at about 202,000 which is over 15 percent year-on-year increase,” she said.

She pointed out that there was a rise in the number of independent travellers, which reflected a shift to “deeper and more personalised experiences."

She noted the shift helped a wider range of businesses to benefit from the tourism growth and supported the development of a more diversified and sustainable tourism economy.

Regarding the new Huanggang port that will open soon, Yeung was optimistic it would benefit the city in the long term.

"[The new Huanggang port] would definitely further enhance our tourism performance, but we will expect a medium to long term growth driver rather than a short term surge in numbers," she said.

Speaking on the same programme, Carrel Kam, vice‑chairman of the Institute of Dining Professionals, described stronger demand at eateries.

“During the Golden Week, most restaurants or food and beverages outlets are doing great, especially in the tourist areas,” he said.

He said the average spending remained similar to previous years as more visitors favoured local experiences over luxury shopping, but he noted social media's role in driving in-depth visits.

“A lot of the business... they are collaborating with social media, such as Xiaohongshu, Douyin... a lot of our members said they had a boost in business by 20 percent during the week simply just by posting things on Xiaohongshu,” he said.

He added the catering sector should synergise with other sectors to maintain the momentum heading into the Christmas and New Year holiday period when many mega events will be held.




Edited by Tony Sabine