By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-10-06 06:18:02 | Updated at 2024-10-06 08:30:53
2 hours ago
Hong Kong welcomed nearly 1 million mainland Chinese visitors in the first five days of the National Day “golden week” break, a 35 per cent increase from the same period last year, according to local immigration authorities.
Director of Immigration Benson Kwok Joon-fung also estimated on Sunday that the city would record 300 million arrival and departure trips by the end of 2024, a return to pre-pandemic levels.
The mainland’s annual golden week holiday runs from October 1 to 7.
Kwok said that 980,000 mainland visitors had entered Hong Kong between Tuesday and Saturday, up 35 per cent from last year.
National Day on October 1 saw more than 220,000 such travellers come to the city – a 30 per cent rise year on year, he added.
“In the past five days, whether at the border checkpoints, tourism hotspots and popular restaurants, it has been very hustle and bustle, with long queues reported in many places,” he told a radio programme.
“So we can see that the [National Day] celebratory events held by the government and other sectors are very attractive. And Hong Kong remains a welcoming place for mainland tourists.”
