More traffic out of Hong Kong than into city over ‘golden week’ holiday

Hong Kong residents made fewer trips out of the city during the “golden week” holiday this year compared with 2023, but the total was still greater than the number of mainland Chinese arrivals recorded.

The latest figures from the Immigration Department showed mainlanders made about 1.2 million trips to the city between October 1 and 7. They made 1 million trips across the longer eight-day holiday from September 29 to October 6 last year, which coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The department recorded Hongkongers making 1.78 million trips this year, compared with 1.83 million in 2023.

The tourism industry had earlier expressed optimism as nearly 1 million mainland arrivals were recorded during the first five days of the holiday this year, a 35 per cent increase over last year.

Industry leaders anticipate the trend will continue into the Christmas season, with the positive outlook further bolstered by a recent rebound in the stock market.

But Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, a senior economist with Natixis Corporate and Investment Bank, called for cautious optimism.