'HK saw strong Golden Week tourism numbers'

Industry figures hailed Hong Kong's strong performance during the National Day Golden Week this year, saying visitor numbers, longer stays and changing spending patterns point to a healthier, more diversified tourism recovery. Their remarks came after visitors arrivals to Hong Kong for the period surpassed government projections. Speaking on RTHK's Backchat programme on Thursday, Fanny Yeung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, said the city saw a growth in tourists numbers during the holiday, especially mainland visitors. "From the 1st to the 7th of October, we received over 1.6 million visitors and there are approximately over 1.4 million mainland visitors, so the daily mainland visitors arrival averaged at about 202,000 which is over 15 percent year-on-year increase,” she said. She pointed out that there was a rise in the number of independent travellers, which reflected a shift to “deeper and more personalised experiences." She noted the shift helped a wider range of businesses to benefit from the tourism growth and supported the development of a more diversified and sustainable tourism economy. Regarding the new Huanggang port that will open soon, Yeung was optimistic it would benefit the city in the long term. "[The new Huanggang port] would definitely further enhance our tourism...