A total of 415,466 Mainland tourists visited Hong Kong during the 10-day Labour Day-Golden Week holiday, up 6% on the same period last year, the Tourism Commission says.

Despite competition from other destinations, and an increasing proportion of Mainland visitors choosing not to visit Hong Kong during peak seasons, the city's appeal to them has been maintained, the commission said.

As the Individual Visit Scheme is becoming more popular, and the mode of travel of Mainland visitors becomes more mature, it is expected that the "Golden Week effect" will diminish gradually. It is very convenient for them to travel to Hong Kong and so they will prefer visiting during normal weekends to avoid the crowds and surcharges.

More statistics

For the weekend preceding Golden Week, daily Mainland arrivals rose 19%. During March and the first two weeks of April, 1.12 million and 540,000 Mainland visitors were recorded, representing a rise of 20% and 15% on the same period last year.

The Hong Kong Hotels Association said the average hotel rate rose 15% during the Golden Week and the average occupancy rate was 85%.

On the adjustment of hotel rates during peak seasons, the commission said it reflects the supply and demand of the market, adding the hotel industry and travel agents should work together to maintain smooth operation of the market mechanism.

The Retail Management Association said the retail market has been good in general and traffic flow in large shopping malls grew during the last Golden Week.

Service upgrades

Noting Mainland visitors will spend more wisely on value-for-money products and services, the commission urged people not to focus only on the short-term benefits of Golden Week.

Everyone should continue to make every effort to upgrade service quality to strengthen Hong Kong's competitive edge in the long-term and attract more visitors.