Hong Kong losing popularity as Golden Week holiday destination

The number of mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong during this year’s Golden Week, the week with two coinciding Chinese holidays; the mid-autumn festival and the national day, is expected to be 15 percent lower than last year.

The Hong Kong Inbound Tour Operators Association chairman Ricky Tse Kam-ting argues that one of the main reasons for this decline is that relaxation of visa restrictions in Europe has made long-haul tours to Europe increasingly popular among Chinese tourists. Another reason, Tse worries, is that [tweetable]Hong Kong is starting to lose its luster among mainland tourists[/tweetable] as many of them have already visited multiple times and seen most of the attractions the special administrative region has to offer.

Travel Industry Council chairman Michael Wu Siu-ieng agrees that Hong Kong has lost some of its draw among mainland tourists, in part since they now can choose from more than 100 international destinations for their golden week travels – representing a significant increase over the last few years. At the same time, Wu argues, [tweetable]Hong Kong enjoys a geographical advantage – and should use it to attract mainland tourists for shorter holidays[/tweetable] and long weekends.

Amid the situation in Hong Kong during the same time last year, mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong during the golden week still increased by 6.8 percent year-over-year, in comparison to the 17.7 percent increase of mainland golden week tourists recorded in 2013.

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Source: South China Morning Post

Photo: Konrad Lembcke, flickr