Hong Kong records 20% fewer trips than expected on day 1 of Labour Day ‘golden week’ holiday amid bad weather
- About 800,000 trips made on Wednesday, below 1 million estimate, official data shows
- But visitors have been streaming in on day two of the holiday, even as the weather remains gloomy
Immigration Department statistics showed travellers made about 800,000 trips on Wednesday, the first day of the break that runs from May 1 to 5 on the mainland. The figure was lower than the department’s estimate of 1 million.
Weather in the city was expected to remain unsettled throughout the holiday period, with rainy and cloudy conditions forecast until Sunday.
Hong Kong Tourism Association executive director Timothy Chui Ting-pong said he believed the bad weather had discouraged some visitors, although he noted others might have simply avoided travelling to the city on the first day of the break.
In Tsim Sha Tsui, hundreds of visitors descended on popular tourist spot Avenue of Stars despite thick fog obscuring Victoria Peak from the waterfront promenade.
The Post observed on Thursday that many visitors from the mainland were on day trips from places close to the border, and they said they were not planning to go on shopping sprees.
