'Golden week' glitters less in HK this year

Hong Kong got fewer mainland visitors during the May Day holiday this year, and industry players say the special administrative region's luster was dimmed by recent protests held to stem such visits.

"Needless to say, the dispute between locals and mainland tourists tolled a bell," said Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's Immigration Department reported that 388,070 mainland visitors arrived in the city from May 1 to May 3, a slight decline from the same period last year. In 2013, the holiday, which ran April 29 to May 1, brought 394,476 mainland tourists to Hong Kong.