Mainland Chinese travel activity picked up sharply during the Mid-Autumn Festival period, with Hong Kong receiving nearly 440,000 inbound trips from across the border as transport systems throughout China handled heavy holiday traffic.
Hong Kong’s Immigration Department recorded 439,532 inbound trips by mainland visitors from Friday through Sunday. That figure accounted for about one quarter of the 1.73 million inbound trips made by all visitors during the three-day period.
Attention is already shifting to the mainland’s seven-day National Day holiday, which begins on October 1. Hong Kong authorities expect around 1.29 million mainland visitors during the break and forecast that average daily arrivals from across the border will exceed last year’s level by more than 5 per cent.
The timing of the two holidays has also created an extended travel window. Mainland residents who took three additional days of leave between the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day breaks could create a continuous 13-day holiday.
Hotels Expect Heavy Golden Week Demand
Hong Kong’s tourism industry expects strong occupancy in major visitor districts during the National Day period.
According to the South China Morning Post, Travel Industry Council chairman Tommy Tam said the sector’s estimate was broadly in line with the government forecast. He also pointed to favourable exchange rates and festive events as factors that could support demand.
“Of course, in traditional popular districts, such as Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay and Central, [hotel occupancy rates] will exceed 90 per cent,” he told a radio programme.
“And I heard from the industry that room rates this year have increased by nearly double digits.”
Trip.com searches showed significantly higher hotel prices in Causeway Bay for October 1 to 3 compared with September 29 and 30. Average nightly rates across budget, mid-range and luxury properties increased by between 36 per cent and more than 230 per cent.
At the Regal Hongkong Hotel, the listed room price increased 65 per cent from HK$828 to HK$1,367, or roughly US$105 to US$174, including taxes and fees.
Tam also said more mainland visitors were choosing staggered travel dates and multi-destination trips. Some are arriving in Hong Kong before or after the main holiday rush and continuing to Macau or other Greater Bay Area cities.
He added that the industry expects visitor spending to support catering and high-end retail, and said mainland tourists had confidence in Hong Kong’s zero-tolerance approach to forced shopping.
Holiday Traffic Stretches Across China
The increase in Hong Kong arrivals formed part of a much broader wave of movement across China.
Inter-regional travel during the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday was estimated at 650 million passenger-trips, or about 220 million per day. Average inbound and outbound passenger trips were projected at 2.2 million.
China’s railways expected to carry 16.86 million passengers on the final day of the holiday, with 1,398 additional trains added to handle the demand.
Civil aviation was expected to serve another 2.1 million passengers that day, with flows concentrated between cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu. Water transport was projected to carry 813,000 passengers.
Domestic travel habits also showed a preference for shorter trips. Nearly 60 per cent of bookings were for local or short-haul travel, according to Tongcheng Travel.
Bookings for local sightseeing and scenic attractions increased 17 per cent year-on-year. Lantern shows, ancient town parades and cultural museums proved popular among younger travellers and families, while many museums reached capacity before the festival began.
Night tourism also gained momentum, particularly on routes linked to autumn scenery and traditional Chinese themes.
Food and festival spending rose at the same time. Group-buying orders for catering services on Douyin increased about 80 per cent, while orders related to “Mid-Autumn Festival reunion feast” climbed 105 per cent year-on-year.
Searches for mooncakes and festival gift boxes exceeded 6 million on the platform. Mooncake sales rose 157 per cent, while pastry gift box sales increased 246 per cent. On another e-commerce platform, searches for low-sugar mooncakes jumped 320 per cent.
National Day Could Extend the Travel Surge
The National Day holiday is expected to generate another major wave of transport and tourism activity.
By Sunday, China had sold 155 million railway tickets covering the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day periods. Domestic flight bookings for the combined period exceeded 8.58 million by mid-September, up more than 10 per cent. Bookings for routes longer than 2,000 kilometres increased about 14 per cent.
Local governments have also scheduled more than 20,000 cultural and tourism events during the National Day consumption month, running from mid-September through late October. Authorities plan to distribute more than 310 million yuan, or US$46.2 million, in coupons.
“The fourth quarter is already the traditional peak season for consumption. This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays will further release concentrated travel demand. During the National Day period, cultural and tourism consumption will play a significantly stronger role in supporting the added value of the service industry and the total retail sales of consumer goods,” Hu Qimu, a professor at the Maritime Silk Road Institute of Huaqiao University, told the Global Times.
Festival-related demand also extended into exports. European platform Joybuy reported that sales of Chinese mooncakes increased more than sixteenfold before the holiday.
In Hong Kong, the growth in tourism has also exposed problems with reservation systems at some attractions. Around half of those who booked places for the Po Pin Chau section of the High Island Geo Trail did not attend.
During the initial trial weekend, about 1,560 visitors arrived despite more than 3,200 bookings. During the Mid-Autumn Festival period, daily attendance averaged around 1,170 compared with 2,360 reservations.
Lawmaker Christine Fong Kwok-shan suggested introducing an admission fee or deposit.
“I referenced, for example, mainland geological parks in Shenzhen and other places. They actually charge about 80 to 100 yuan (US$12 to US$15), so I think the deposit could be similar to these fees,” she said.
“I estimate there will be about HK$30 million in basic income a year … which should rightly be used in the district to improve conservation, education and promotion resources.”
Authorities plan to review the reservation system after the National Day holiday.