Editorial | Golden opportunity for Hong Kong to reap holiday travel boom rewards
- Hong Kong must come up with more targeted and effective promotions to avoid missing out on tourists from mainland China in May Day break bonanza
Having emerged from the prolonged coronavirus pandemic for more than a year, many Chinese are itching to travel for the coming May Day holidays.
There are expectations of a bonanza for the mainland tourism industry, as reflected in a recent spike in bookings, but how well Hong Kong can tap into the boom remains to be seen.
Local authorities must come up with more targeted and effective promotions to avoid the city missing out.
Since last week, domestic airfare bookings for “golden week” surged 21 per cent compared to last year, according to mainland ticketer Umetrip. Hotel reservations for lower-tier cities on travel platform Ctrip also rose 68 per cent year on year.
Visa fee charges for outbound trips during the coming holiday were also said to have exceeded those in the corresponding period of 2019. It all bodes well for a healthy recovery to the pre-pandemic level for the mainland.
There have been suggestions that Hong Kong remains a top destination for mainlanders due to its accessibility, and they appear to be supported by the latest arrival figures.