Fueled by an increasing influx of mainland tourists, catering and tourism service providers in Hong Kong are optimistic about a rise in consumer spending during the Labor Day holiday, which runs Thursday through Monday.

The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong said the number of Chinese mainland visitors traveling to Hong Kong from January to March this year increased by about 6 percent year-on-year, while Golden Week mainland visitor numbers are expected to rise by around 8 percent year-on-year, with a total of more than 800,000 visits to Hong Kong.

“Policies like the expansion of the Individual Visit Scheme to more mainland cities and the resumption of multientry permits for Shenzhen residents will facilitate more mainland tourists to travel to Hong Kong, which is helpful to boost Hong Kong’s retail industry this year,” said Peter Shiu Ka-fai, a lawmaker representing the wholesale and retail industries.

Alan Chan Chung-yee, chief operations officer of Miramar Group, agreed. “So far this year, the average number of days that tourists stay in our hotel is slightly higher than last year. It is believed that we have benefited from expansion of the Individual Visit Scheme, which pushed up the number of long-distance travelers,” he said.

He estimates that the occupancy rate could reach 96 percent, slightly higher than during the same period last year.

Citybus reported that its open-top bus tour recorded a 108 percent year-on-year increase in passengers in the first quarter. It is expected to attract over 30,000 travelers during the upcoming holiday.

Tim Tang, operations manager of open-top sightseeing and tours at Citybus, cited three factors as positive signs: good weather during the Golden Week, supporting policies like the resumption of multientry permits for Shenzhen residents, and company promotion strategies.

“We have observed that many tourists travel to and from Hong Kong on the same day. So at the beginning of this year, we launched a sightseeing pass — Day Rider — which allows passengers to explore Hong Kong with one pass in 24 hours,” Tang said.

Professionals in the catering industry also agreed that Golden Week will bring them more guests. However, some industry insiders said that compared with the same period last year, their sales volumes could remain unchanged or even drop.

“Generally speaking, tourists coming to Hong Kong now spend less than before, and local consumers are eager to travel to Shenzhen during holidays and weekends,” said Keith Siu Tak-wai, chief operating officer for Hong Kong and Macao at Maxim’s Group, a restaurant chain based in Hong Kong.

However, Alex Ng, director of Grill Cambo, a restaurant in Causeway Bay, expressed a more pessimistic prediction, saying that the sales figures in his restaurant this year have dropped 30 percent year-on-year.

Ng said that many local residents now choose to leave the city for more attractive food, goods, and entertainment on the mainland and in Japan and South Korea.

Meanwhile, “many mainland tourists are influenced by comments on the social network Xiaohongshu, such as ‘the lowest consumption is the best’,” Ng said. “In this case, I think every participant in the catering industry needs to improve ourselves and attract our guests back from global competitors, although it will take time.”

thor_wu@chinadailyhk.com