Hong Kong's retail sales reached HK$33.8 billion in May, with a 10.6% increase for the first five months of the year compared to last year. This growth is attributed to economic expansion, rising labor earnings, and a continued increase in inbound visitors, including over 1 million mainland tourists during the Labour Day holiday.
Hong Kong's Ham Tin Wan beach was overrun with 500 tents during Labour Day, raising concerns about balancing ecotourism with conservation and sustainable tourism practices.
Hong Kong’s tourism sectors have entered 2026 with renewed momentum. The broader economy has strengthened, expanding by 5.9 per cent in the first quarter, its fastest pace in nearly five years. Visitor arrivals also reached 14.3 million in the first quarter, up 17 per cent year on year. The recent Labour Day “golden week” holiday offered a further boost, with the city receiving more than 1 million mainland visitors. Across the border, travel volumes reached unprecedented levels, with an...
Hong Kong received more than 1 million mainland Chinese visitors during the five-day Labour Day “golden week” holiday, a 10 per cent rise from a year ago, exceeding government expectations, but industry leaders said their spending was uneven. Immigration Department data showed the city recorded 1.01 million mainland visitor arrivals between May 1 and 5, surpassing the forecast of 980,000. Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said on Wednesday some shopping centre operators had reported year-on-year...
A backpacker has shared photos of herself holding a MacLehose Trail sign apparently removed from its metal stand during the Labour Day “golden week” holiday, drawing criticism from Hong Kong internet users. In one of two photos posted on her RedNote account, “2 star”, on Monday, the woman is seen holding the wooden panel, with a caption reading: “This is my favourite tourist picture” and a hashtag for Po Pin Chau, a well-known natural landmark in Sai Kung and a popular destination for...
Hong Kong should adopt a top-down, comprehensive ecotourism policy to safeguard the city’s natural attractions, with a designated authority taking the lead, experts have urged, after a surge in Labour Day “golden week” visitors overwhelmed ecologically sensitive spots. The call on Monday came after a viral video showed a Mandarin-speaking tourist smoking a cigarette in front of the press and claiming he had confirmed with law enforcement officers that smoking was allowed at the beach of Ham Tin...
Hong Kong should adopt a top-down, comprehensive ecotourism policy to safeguard the city’s natural attractions, with a designated authority taking the lead, experts have urged, after a surge in Labour Day “Golden Week” visitors overwhelmed ecologically sensitive spots. The call on Monday came after a viral video showed a Mandarin-speaking tourist smoking a cigarette in front of the press and claiming he had confirmed with law enforcement officers that smoking was allowed at the beach of Ham Tin...
Hong Kong recorded a 4.8 per cent increase in mainland Chinese visitors in the first three days of the Labour Day “Golden Week” holiday, but industry players warned that uneven spending and more flexible travel patterns could weigh on business despite hotel occupancy rates potentially reaching 90 per cent. Immigration Department data showed mainlanders made 714,765 visits into the city between May 1 and 3, up by about 4.8 per cent from 682,114 in the same period last year. Total visitor...
A green group has spotted people landing on an uninhabited island in the southern Hong Kong waters known to be a regular breeding site for a seabird species during mainland China’s Labour Day “golden week” holiday, which coincides with its breeding season. Terns, known as “sea swallows”, are seabirds with typically white or light grey streamlined bodies, long pointed bills and forked tails. While about 40 tern species exist globally, one-third of them, or 12, have been recorded in Hong Kong....
A green group has spotted people landing on an uninhabited island in the southern Hong Kong waters known to be a regular breeding site for a seabird species during mainland China’s Labour Day “golden week” holiday, which coincides with its breeding season. Terns, known as “sea swallows”, are seabirds with typically white or light grey streamlined bodies, long pointed bills and forked tails. While about 40 tern species exist globally, one-third of them, or 12, have been recorded in Hong Kong....
Tents set up inside Hong Kong bus terminuses during Labour Day golden week have sparked online complaints, with some social media posts suggesting mainland tourists were camping. However, visits found the tents were used by domestic helpers who have been gathering at locations including Tai Po, Central and Tseung Kwan O intermittently for about two years due to having nowhere else to rest on their days off.
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong are setting up tents under bus terminuses during their days off, sparking online complaints that mistakenly blamed mainland tourists during Labour Day golden week. Helpers say they have been gathering at these locations for about two years because they have nowhere else to go on their rest days.
Hong Kong's economy is expected to see its strongest quarterly growth in five years, driven by a 17% rise in visitor numbers and increased retail and catering activity, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.
Hundreds of visitors, including unlicensed tour groups, packed the Ham Tin Wan campsite in Sai Kung during the Labour Day 'golden week', leading to facility congestion and sanitation issues.
Champion nicknamed the Monster holds off late surgeBoth boxers had unbeaten records entering SaturdayBattle billed as biggest fight in Japanese boxing historyNaoya Inoue successfully defended his undisputed super-bantamweight championship with a close but uncontroversial 12-round unanimous decision over Junto Nakatani in their eagerly anticipated showdown at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night.Before a sellout crowd of about 55,000 spectators during Japan’s Golden Week holiday, Inoue held off a fierce late surge from his unbeaten rival to win by scores of 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113 and retain the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO belts at 122lb, extending his perfect record in what had been billed as the biggest fight in Japanese boxing history. (The Guardian had it 115-113 for Inoue.) Continue reading...
Hong Kong recorded a 13% year-on-year increase in mainland Chinese visitors on the first day of the Labour Day holiday, though local restaurant operators report that tourists are spending more cautiously.
Sharp Island and High Island Reservoir experienced high visitor numbers on Friday, with officials deploying extra staff to manage crowds. The surge, linked to social media promotion, has sparked concerns regarding potential ecological damage from overtourism.
Hong Kong saw 251,212 mainland Chinese visitors on the first day of the Labour Day golden week holiday, a 13% increase year-on-year. Meanwhile, 430,862 Hongkongers left the city, representing a 45% surge from last year's 296,273. Total cross-border trips reached 1.32 million.
Hong Kong police have arrested a 31-year-old taxi driver for dangerous driving on the first day of the Labour Day golden week holiday after he was caught reaching speeds of 160km/h and completing a 42km journey in just 30 minutes. Officers went undercover as tourists at Sai Kung Country Park to gather evidence after the driver frequently uploaded videos of dangerous driving online.
WWF-Hong Kong staff approached a mainland Chinese tourist family on a beach in Sai Kung after their son was spotted collecting crabs, prompting the release of the animals. Authorities have increased patrols on the island ahead of the May 1 holiday, which lasts five days on the mainland but only one day in Hong Kong.
About a dozen visitors were observed removing small crabs and shells from a tombolo on Hong Kong's Sharp Island on Friday, the first day of mainland China's five-day Labour Day golden week. Conservation officers and WWF-Hong Kong staff confronted the visitors and issued warnings. A 42-year-old mainland tourist surnamed Chen released the crabs his son had collected after being approached by staff.
Thousands of visitors have converged on Hong Kong's East Dam to witness its rare volcanic rock columns during the five-day Labour Day golden week holiday. By 2pm, visitor traffic had reached 'very busy' levels, with the government expecting about 980,000 mainland visitors during the period—a 7 per cent year-on-year increase. The site, part of a UNESCO global geopark, has become increasingly popular on mainland Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, with tourists trading traditional shopping sprees for ecotourism.
Hong Kong recorded over 76,000 trips by mainland Chinese visitors on the first morning of the five-day Labour Day golden week, with many heading to the countryside for scenic views while others opted for city walks. Early arrivals traveled from Changsha to hike the MacLehose Trail, with 18-year-old university student Chen Hongjie planning a two-night camping trip along the trail.
Hong Kong residents flocked to Shenzhen on Friday, drawn by ‘better service’ at restaurants and family-friendly attractions as the Labour Day “golden week” holiday began. Affordability has also lured droves of Hongkongers across the border, with families budgeting about HK$1,000 (US$128) for a full day in the tech hub, covering restaurants, dental clinics, indoor amusement parks and ice-skating rinks. Labour Day is a statutory public holiday in Hong Kong and marks the start of mainland China’s...
