Golden Week won't reverse HK tourist decline

With the National Day holiday (Oct 1-7) just around the corner, tourist industry chiefs on Wednesday voiced concerns that Hong Kong would continue to suffer from shrinking mainland visitors, after a brief rebound in July, to resume the past 12 months of dwindling numbers.

Hong Kong Travel Industry Council Chairman Jason Wong Chun-tat said the city now receives about 180 tour groups from the mainland every day. He projected that the number would slightly increase to 200 during the holiday week, down about 30 percent year-on-year.

According to the HKTIC, the daily average number of mainland group tours to Hong Kong during previous seven-day National Day holiday was 260 and 300 in 2015 and 2014, respectively.