A Government spokesman said today (February 18) that the eight-consecutive-day Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland (February 10 to 17) ended yesterday (February 17). The total numbers of inbound and Mainland visitors have reached and exceeded the levels of the same period in 2018 respectively. Various arrangements for receiving visitors were rolled out smoothly and visitors offered positive feedback generally. The tourism industry in Hong Kong will sustain its development momentum this year.
The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, said, "We thank various government departments, tourism-related organisations, etc for their utmost efforts in providing good travel experiences to our visitors during the Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland. The number of Mainland visitors during the Golden Week has exceeded the level in the same period in 2018, intensifying the city's ambience and also increasing the income of the catering and retail industry. The major events during Chinese New Year, including the night parade, the fireworks display, the horse race, and the Chinese New Year Cup, were very popular and created vibrant vibes. I believe visitors can feel the intense festive ambience of Chinese New Year and the unique metropolitan glamour of Hong Kong. To attract and welcome visitors, the Government will review its work on different fronts to facilitate future co-ordination and enhancement of visitors' experience."
During the eight-day Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland, the Immigration Department preliminarily recorded a total of around 1.436 million inbound visitors to Hong Kong, among which around 1.255 million Mainland visitors coming to Hong Kong through various sea, land and air control points. The daily average of Mainland visitors was around 157 000, which exceeded that of the Labour Day Holiday and National Day Golden Week in 2023 by 25.3 per cent and 14.9 per cent respectively. The number of daily Mainland visitor arrivals also exceeded the daily average of the same period in 2018.
Arrival of Mainland visitors peaked on February 12 (the third day of Lunar New Year) with around 186 000 visitors arriving in Hong Kong. Express Rail Link West Kowloon received the highest daily average number of Mainland visitors, followed by Lo Wu.
A large number of visitors went to various major tourist attractions in Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland, including the West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong Disneyland, Ocean Park, Ngong Ping 360, the Peak Tram, Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin, the Wishing Tree in Lam Tsuen of Tai Po, Wong Tai Sin Temple, etc, and the ambience was good. In addition, according to the trade, the overall hotel occupancy rate reached 90 per cent in the first few days of the Golden Week and exceeded 80 per cent for the Golden Week period. Different catering and retail spots were also benefited.
According to the Travel Industry Authority's registration information, around 1 980 Mainland inbound tour groups visited Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland, involving around 66 000 visitors which account for around 5.3 per cent of the overall number.
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