Hong Kong records 13% rise in mainland Chinese visitors on day 1 of ‘golden week’

Hong Kong recorded a 13 per cent year-on-year increase in mainland Chinese visitors on the first day of the “golden week” Labour Day holiday, with more than 300,000 inbound trips made throughout the day.

Meanwhile, the number of Hongkongers leaving the city on Friday also surged by 45 per cent compared with last year, reaching more than 430,000 outbound journeys.

Immigration statistics on Saturday showed 1.32 million cross-border trips were made on the first of the mainland’s five-day holiday, of which 300,466 were inbound visits.

Mainland visitors accounted for 251,212 of all inbound arrivals, a 13 per cent increase compared with the 221,758 recorded last year.

At the same time, the city recorded 667,124 outbound trips, of which 430,862, or about 65 per cent, were Hongkongers leaving the city.

The number of outbound Hongkongers was up 45 per cent from the 296,273 recorded on May 1 a year ago, which fell on a Thursday.

Labour Day is a statutory public holiday in Hong Kong and marks the start of the mainland’s five-day break from May 1 to 5.