Interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements summarises visitor arrivals to Hong Kong during Chinese New Year Golden Week of Mainland
******************************************************************************************
The interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements, led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (February 5) announced that the overall number of visitors to Hong Kong reached around 1.4 million following the conclusion of the eight-day Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland (January 28 to February 4) yesterday, with various arrangements for receiving visitors rolling out smoothly.
Mr Chan said, “During this Chinese New Year Golden Week, the wide range of celebration events held in Hong Kong, including the Cathay International Chinese New Year Night Parade on the first day of Chinese New Year, the fireworks display on the second day, the Chinse New Year Raceday on the third day and the Chinese New Year Cup football match on the fourth day, were well received by the public and visitors from the Mainland and different parts of the world, allowing them to immerse themselves in a vibrant festive atmosphere.”
Visitor flow and situation of boundary control points
During the eight-day Chinese New Year Golden Week, the Immigration Department recorded a total of around 1.4 million inbound visitors to Hong Kong through various sea, land and air control points. Among them, Mainland visitors accounted for about 1.2 million, representing around 85 per cent of the total arrivals. The daily average of Mainland visitors was around 150 000.
The arrival of Mainland visitors peaked on January 30 (the second day of Chinese New Year) with around 190 000 Mainland visitors arriving in Hong Kong. During the Chinese New Year Golden Week, the Express Rail Link West Kowloon Control Point received the highest number of Mainland visitors, followed by the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point. The overall operation of the control points and transport services ran smoothly.
Major tourist attractions, inbound tour groups and hotel occupancy rate
Visitors went to different parts of Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year Golden Week, with high visitor flow observed at major tourist attractions including the West Kowloon Cultural District, Ocean Park, Hong Kong Disneyland, the Peak Tram and Ngong Ping 360. Smooth and effective crowd management measures were implemented. In addition, according to the information provided by the hotel industry, the hotel occupancy rate during the Chinese New Year Golden Week reached 90 per cent in general.
In terms of Mainland inbound tour groups, according to the Travel Industry Authority’s information, over 2 200 Mainland inbound tour groups visited Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year Golden Week, with around 83 per cent engaged in overnight itineraries. These tour groups involved around 79 000 visitors, accounting for around 7 per cent of all Mainland visitors, and they were orderly in general.
Cross-boundary traffic
Throughout the Chinese New Year Golden Week, the Transport Department had been steering public transport operators to enhance their service capacity with a view to meeting the cross-boundary passenger demand. The traffic conditions at various boundary control points were mostly smooth.
Mr Chan said, “Thanks to the close collaboration of all relevant government departments, organisations and the trade in making comprehensive preparations and responses, as well as the co-operation of the public and tourists, the various reception arrangements during the Chinese New Year Golden Week operated smoothly this year, enabling citizens and tourists to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Hong Kong in a joyous and festive manner.”
