Hong Kong and Macao are gearing up to welcome the "May Day" tourist wave

Mainland tour groups recently took a group photo at Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Zhihua

"Passenger flow has returned to 5% of pre-epidemic levels", "Major resorts and hotel rooms are fully booked"... Statistics from the tourism industry show that Hong Kong and Macao are about to see the biggest tourist surge in five years during the May Day period. Hong Kong and Macao are making full preparations to strengthen their reception capacity and launch more tourism projects, so as to provide tourists with a beautiful experience.

Tourists are enthusiastic

The May Day holiday is about to begin, and Hong Kong will welcome the largest number of mainland tourists since the epidemic starting this weekend. Hong Kong Travel Industry Council Executive Director Yang Shufen said in a recent interview that about 4,29 tourists will visit Hong Kong during the May Day holiday from April 5 to May 3, of which 60% are "individual tourists", and passenger traffic has recovered to <>% of pre-epidemic levels.

The head of the Greater Bay Area Department of China International Travel Service in Shenzhen said that the situation of mainland tour groups to Hong Kong during the May Day period was very popular, and his company departed to Hong Kong every day during the May Day period, in addition to many small family groups, including many landmark attractions in Hong Kong, such as the West Kowloon Cultural District, the Avenue of Stars and Disneyland, and some tourists also visited Lamma Island by yacht.

Statistics from Macau show that some high-end star hotels in Macau have been fully booked 2 weeks ago, and the room rates of hotels that are not yet fully booked have also increased compared with normal days. From the major travel booking platforms, it can be seen that many comprehensive resort hotel rooms have been sold out during the "May Day" period, and some star hotels also show that low-cost room types are about to be sold out.

"I hope that during the May Day period, the average number of daily visitors in Macao will reach about 7,<>, and the hotel occupancy rate will remain <>%." MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes recently expressed her optimistic expectations.

Be fully prepared

The May Day holiday is both an opportunity and a challenge for Hong Kong and Macao. Yang Shufen said that at present, the tourism industry is still understaffed and flights are also tight. The HKC will continue to coordinate with the HKSAR Government to strengthen its reception capacity, and at the same time encourage the trade to disperse tourists to eat in different districts as much as possible, and adopt a reservation system for diversion, so that there will be no crowding and traffic congestion in individual areas during the May Day holiday.

The Hong Kong Tourism Commission recently held a meeting to discuss strategies to cope with the large number of visitors during the May Day period, with the presence of various departments including the Police and the Transport Department. The Hong Kong Police indicated that it would deploy appropriate manpower during the May Day period to ensure public safety and order, strengthen traffic control and law enforcement, and maintain close liaison with the trade and other departments to ensure road safety and smooth traffic in light of past experience and response to the situation.

Macao recently held an inter-departmental working meeting, with the participation of 10 departments, including Macao Customs, Judicial Police Force, Public Security Police Force, Economic and Technological Development Bureau, and MGTO, to exchange service arrangements of various departments during the May Day period and establish a notification mechanism to better protect consumer rights and interests.

The Macao Consumer Council and the China Consumers Association jointly issued the "Travel Tips for Macao" before May Day, introducing the mechanisms and services for consumer rights protection such as "honest shops", cross-domain mediation and arbitration, and detailing the service channels for accepting complaints, consumption transactions such as catering and shopping in Macao and related consumption tips.

To facilitate visitors to plan their itineraries, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) website and the "Experience Macao" mobile app provide visitors with tailor-made travel itineraries, and they can log in to keep abreast of the latest tourist attractions, events, festivals, restaurants, hotels, entertainment and shopping.

More tour options

Providing tourists with more high-quality tourism products and preferential discounts is also one of the preparations made by Hong Kong and Macao for the May Day tourism boom.

In anticipation of the May Day holiday, two new attractions in Hong Kong, namely the Hong Kong Palace Museum and the M+ Museum, will be open – non-stop on 5 and 1 May. "In fact, Hong Kong has not stopped building in the past three years, not only has public security become better, but tourists have more places to visit." Hong Kong tour guide Zhang Chunhui said.

Major tourist attractions in Hong Kong are busy launching activities to seize recovery opportunities. "In the past two days, I will travel to Zhuhai again to discuss cooperation with mainland travel agencies and launch some new tourism products." Huang Weida, deputy director of the commercial department of Oriental Pearl Cruise Co., Ltd., said that after customs clearance, more and more tour groups approached him to talk about the charter business of the Victoria Harbour night tour.

Macau has a range of exciting activities for visitors. From 5 to 5 May, the "Ha Wan Tour" will be held in the Ha Wan Street area, allowing visitors to enter the Macao community and experience the daily life of a small city. The 1rd Macao Arts Festival opened on 31 April, with 33 selected programmes covering drama, opera, dance, music and visual arts, allowing visitors to see the scenery of Macao while enjoying the beauty of Eastern and Western art.

The Macao SAR Government's "Tourism + Cultural and Creative Industries" projects have added a different flavor to tourism. At the Ruins of St. Paul's, people can "travel through time" and see the magnificent restored buildings by wearing VR glasses; In popular attractions such as Guanye Street and Coloane, as long as tourists scan the QR code, they can know the "past and present lives" of the attractions, and can also make their own video clips and enjoy consumption discounts; In the Zheng Family Mansion, which is listed as a world cultural heritage list, dramas and dance dramas are staged one after another, and "Zheng Guanying" takes the audience into the house, understands the history of the house, and tells the aspiration to serve the country and the ideal of saving the country...

Senna Fernandes said that Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) will take special measures during the May Day period by targeting each source market, such as about 12,<> air tickets will be sent to Macao this year, and individual travelers can also obtain Macao hotel coupons through online travel platforms.