“I wanted to come early because there are actually fewer people in the first few hours, and I wanted to be able to walk around without getting packed like a sardine,” he said.

Mak said he was searching for travel books, novels and some children’s books for his son.

“Usually vendors offer some kind of discount, but the main point is I can get everything all at once in one place,” he added.

Other patrons praised the size and atmosphere of this year’s event.

“I think the guests they invited [for the seminars] this year are quite impressive,” said retiree May Kwok, who is in her sixties.

She said Jin Yucheng, an author best known for his award-winning Chinese novel Blossoms, has also been invited to the event.

The story recently found renewed fame after director Wong Kar-wai adapted the book into a television series, with the first episode airing in mainland China last December.

This year’s book fair will also be held alongside the Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks event, bringing together 760 vendors.

The book fair will also feature a host of renowned writers, academics and celebrities, including Chinese writer Su Tong, best known for works such as Raise the Red Lantern and Petulia’s Rouge Tin.

Speaking at the event’s opening ceremony, Undersecretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Raistlin Lau-chun said: “The publishing and printing industry is one of the important creative industries in Hong Kong.

“The book fair is an important part of promoting the industry’s development.”

Sophia Chong Suk-fan, deputy executive director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, which organised the event, expressed confidence this year’s fair would see a good turnout, bolstered by mainland visitors, especially thanks to promotion efforts across the border.

But vendors said they were less optimistic, with some noting the turnout so far had failed to match last year’s event.

Alexander Chan Kwok-wah, deputy general manager at Cité Publishing, said: “The crowd this morning did not look as big as the same time last year.”

The company’s sales in general throughout the first half of 2024 had fallen compared with the same period last year, he said, attributing the drop to a sluggish economy and residents’ weaker purchasing power due to wages failing to keep up with inflation.

“The money we spent on setting up the booth [at the fair] this year actually rose by 3 per cent compared with last year,” Chan said, adding the costs included rent and staff wages.

Fatima Lu, director of Kadokawa Publishing Business Group, which specialises in Japanese manga, anime and related paraphernalia, agreed and said she had yet to see any increase in visitor traffic.

“We spoke to some other vendors nearby and they all said foot traffic seemed to have decreased from last year,” she said.

But Lu said she remained optimistic, adding that her booth was offering limited edition comics that had yet to be released in other parts of the world.