The upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays are expected to draw a surge of visitors to Hong Kong, giving fresh momentum to the city’s tourism sector as industry insiders look to steady growth this year.
Early signs of a buoyant festive market have already surfaced with the arrival of visitors over the weekend. The special administrative region welcomed more than 1.15 million arrivals between Dec 20 and 21, according to the Immigration Department’s statistics.
Overseas arrivals on Saturday alone hit this year’s single-day high of around 48,000, underscoring Hong Kong’s appeal as a top choice for both family visits and leisure travel.
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The holiday travel rush has given a boost to the hospitality sector. Local hotel operator Nina Hospitality told China Daily that occupancy at its branches in Causeway Bay — a prime shopping district — and Wong Chuk Hang, near popular tourist attraction Ocean Park, is expected to exceed 90 percent during the Christmas period, surpassing last year’s levels.
Average room rates are also projected to rise, according to Rinoa Chan, commercial manager at the group. She said currently most bookings are from mainland visitors, while the hotels have also seen a flow of guests from Australia, the United States, and Singapore.
Chan said the hotels remain hopeful about achieving a performance on par with last year’s over the Christmas and New Year holidays, while last month’s fatal blaze at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Tai Po may weigh on some travelers’ willingness to visit Hong Kong.
Timothy Chui Ting-pong, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, said he is very optimistic about growth during this festive season.
“We already saw crowds in Tsim Sha Tsui and the streets were bustling,” he said, citing that holiday events and campaigns rolled out by the local tourism sector and the SAR government to stimulate demand have delivered notable results.
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Chui highlighted that Hong Kong’s mild winter temperatures and vibrant festive atmosphere are strong draws for visitors, particularly those from the mainland and across Asia.
“Beyond Christmas, the weekend leading up to New Year’s Eve is also likely to mark a peak in arrivals,” he added.
Fanny Yeung Shuk-fan, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, earlier projected that more than 1 million visitor arrivals will be recorded over Christmas, representing a year-on-year increase of about 10 percent. The Christmas holiday last year saw 1,137,455 total arrivals to Hong Kong, according to Immigration Department statistics.
She added that the total number of arrivals for the year is expected to exceed 49 million.
Contact the writer at gabylin@chinadailyhk.com
