1.2 million mainland Chinese visitors expected in Hong Kong for National Day ‘golden week’ break

Hong Kong is expected to welcome as many as 1.2 million mainland Chinese visitors during the coming National Day “golden week” holiday, up 10 per cent from last year, according to the Travel Industry Council.

The council, a federation of trade associations, also predicted that the number of inbound tour groups could grow by nearly 10 per cent to 850 during the seven-day mainland holiday that starts on October 1.

However, a catering industry representative said the sector might not benefit significantly because of an anticipated large outflow of residents, while businesses were scaling back celebrations amid an uncertain economic outlook.

As well as the golden week boom, the coming months are peak cruise season, with the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau forecasting the year-end number of non-local passengers will surge by about 50 per cent compared with 2023.

Council chairwoman Gianna Hsu Wong Mei-lun on Sunday estimated 1.15 million to 1.2 million mainland visitors would arrive in Hong Kong during the golden week holiday, up from about 1.1 million in 2023.