The number of mainland visitors travelling to Hong Kong for the October National Day “golden week” could drop by 2% to 3% this year. Hotels and retailers expect fewer visitors and lower business turnover for the holiday.

Michael Wu Siu-ying, chairman of the Travel Industry Council, said visitor numbers during the first week of October could slide as the number of mainland tour groups is expected to drop by 6% to 8%, according to Chinese language newspaper Sing Tao.

golden week visitors
Photo: Wikipedia Commons.

Meanwhile, hotel prices are likely to fall, possibly by over 10%, the newspaper said, citing a manager at the Gloucester Luk Kwok Hotel in Wan Chai. Only 60% to 70% of rooms at the hotel have been booked for the second to fourth day of golden week, the manager told Sing Tao. The price of rooms will drop from HK$1,500 a night on average in past years to about HK$1,200 this year.  Jewellery retailer King Fook also foresees a drop in business from mainland visitors, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported. The general manager of the company, Wong Ka-ki, said sales to mainland travellers have declined by 5% to 8% so far this year. Wong said she does not expect the situation to improve during golden week.

Vivienne Zeng is a journalist from China with three years' experience covering Hong Kong and mainland affairs. She has an MA in journalism from the University of Hong Kong. Her work has been featured on outlets such as Al Jazeera+ and MSNBC.