[Global Times Comprehensive Report] The first long Lunar New Year holiday after the mainland and Hong Kong were exempted from quarantine clearance has ended, and the overall atmosphere of tourism projects to Hong Kong and Macau has picked up during the Spring Festival.
According to statistics from the Hong Kong Immigration Department, from the 30th day of the Lunar New Year (January 21) to the fourth day of the Lunar New Year (January 25th), a total of more than 417,000 people entered Hong Kong at various ports, of which 66,000 were mainland tourists, accounting for about 16%.
The peak of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong occurred in the third day of junior high school, with a total of more than 16,000 people arriving in Hong Kong.
During the five-day Lunar New Year holiday, Hong Kong’s total outbound trips were 542,000, of which 453,000 were Hong Kong residents, accounting for about 84% of the total outbound trips.
The peak of Hong Kong people's outbound travel is on New Year's Eve, with more than 100,000 people leaving the country. On that day, the largest number of people departed through the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point, followed by the airport.
Over the past few days, Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong has become a shopping hotspot for tourists. Many mainland tourists come to Hong Kong with multiple suitcases for consumption, and some famous stores have to queue to enter.
Some mainland tourists said that due to the epidemic situation in the past three years, they seldom shopped. This time they will spend as much as they want when they come to Hong Kong;
The Chairman of the Hong Kong Travel Industry Council, Meilun Tsui, said that thanks to the customs clearance, some famous stores and jewelry stores in Tsim Sha Tsui have seen an increase in business, 30% of which come from mainland tourists, and the market has begun to recover.
She said that due to the unprepared supporting facilities such as airlines and manpower, it is estimated that the tourism industry will not return to the pre-epidemic level until next year.
According to a Hong Kong media report on January 29, Yao Pakliang, a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong tourism industry, said in a TV program that after the two places implemented quarantine-free customs clearance, the overall atmosphere of the industry has improved, but the number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year is still not as high as before the epidemic. With more than 100,000 passengers per day, nucleic acid testing is still the biggest consideration for passengers.
He called on the SAR government to discuss with the mainland as soon as possible the cancellation of nucleic acid testing and the opening of group tours.
According to a report by "Macao Daily" on January 29, the Macau SAR government announced on the 28th the statistics of inbound tourists from the 21st to the 27th of this month. The results showed that a total of 451,000 people visited Macau in 7 days, with an average of 64,400 people per day, a year-on-year increase of 297%. .
Among them, there were 264,700 mainland tourists, a year-on-year increase of 149.7%; Hong Kong tourists totaled 164,700, a year-on-year increase of 2601.8%.
Senna Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macao Tourism Bureau, said that the number of tourists during the Spring Festival exceeded expectations, and the average daily inbound tourists exceeded 64,000, which was more than the previous estimate of 47,000. The increased economic benefits of tourism during this period will depend on the number of inbound tourists and other factors.
Wu Jingguang, chairman of the Macao Tourism Industry Council, said that the industry was overjoyed. From the data, it can be seen that Hong Kong tourists accounted for about 30%, which has increased compared to the past. It is believed that the Macao SAR government targeted Hong Kong in real time after the relaxation of customs clearance measures on January 8. The market conducts a lot of publicity and promotion, and offers discounts.
He said that after the Lantern Festival and until the eve of the May Day Golden Week, it has always been the traditional off-season for tourism.
Next, we must continue to strengthen the promotion of the Hong Kong market, such as superimposing accommodation discounts on the basis of existing transportation and consumption discounts, so as to continue to attract Hong Kong tourists to visit Macau.
(Yang Weimin)