More Hongkongers to travel over long Easter break despite higher costs

More Hongkongers are expected to travel elsewhere during the five-day Easter weekend from Friday despite a sharp jump in fuel surcharges, according to industry leaders. They also expect more visitors from mainland China during an overlapping Ching Ming Festival holiday, but doubt the influx will deliver any significant boost to the city’s tourism revenue. Some noted that the Easter break might have encouraged travel to the Middle East, but many tour groups have been cancelled until October due to the US-Israel war on Iran. This year’s holiday coincides with the mainland’s three-day Ching Ming Festival from Saturday to Monday. “So [the number of] inbound visitors from the mainland may see a slight increase compared with before,” Travel Industry Council executive director Fanny Yeung Shuk-fun said. Outbound travel, meanwhile, was projected to edge up slightly from a year earlier, with organised tour group numbers estimated at about 1,300 to 1,400 over the Easter holiday, broadly similar to last year, according to Yeung. She said recent increases in fuel surcharges, including adjustments by airlines starting from mid-March, had not led to cancellations, as most travellers had already finalised their holiday plans by then. The conflict’s impact, however, was more evident in terms of Hongkongers’ choice of destinations. Around 60 per cent of outbound travellers were expected to head to mainland cities, with the high-speed rail continuing to gain popularity as the preferred mode of transport. “The share of travellers using high-speed rail has been increasing every year [regardless],” she said. “We’re seeing more people choose it for outbound travel, mainly because pricing is more stable and there are no fuel surcharges or airport taxes.” Meanwhile, long-haul travel demand had weakened, with tour groups to destinations such as Europe estimated to have fallen by at least 40 per cent. Yeung attributed this to disruptions linked to instability in the Middle East. “I believe about 90 per cent of [Hong Kong tour groups] use Middle Eastern airlines. This means their transit must go through the Middle East,” she explained. “Due to the current war, these tours have all been cancelled. “The remaining options might involve direct flights or flying through other locations, but the prices for those are much more expensive.” Lawmaker Alan Chan Chung-yee, who is also chief operating officer of Miramar Group, said the longer break this year was expected to further drive up outbound demand. “This year’s Easter holiday runs for five days instead of four [last year], so naturally there is more time for people to travel, especially to longer-haul destinations,” he said. However, the recent geopolitical tensions and aviation disruptions had sharply decreased demand for traditional long-haul routes. “Even if people want to go to places in Africa, such as Egypt, they would still have to pass through the Middle East or take longer detours, and many feel it’s not worth the risk,” he said. Demand had largely shifted to mainland cities, with high-speed rail routes to Xiamen, Guilin, Wuhan and Changsha seeing particularly strong bookings. The overlap with the Ching Ming Festival had further boosted travel to mainland destinations, with many Hong Kong travellers combining holiday trips with family visits, he said. Despite strong demand, Chan said the shift in travel patterns had not translated into stronger earnings for the industry. “Business is busier, but it’s not necessarily more profitable,” he said. “Travel to the mainland often involves independent trips or simple ticket bookings, so the margins are much lower compared with traditional long-haul tour groups.” Authorities were stepping up preparations for an expected rise in visitor arrivals over the coming holiday, with the Travel Industry Authority (TIA) and government departments tightening oversight of inbound tour groups ahead of the mainland’s long weekend. The TIA said the number of mainland inbound tour groups over the three-day holiday from April 4 to 6 was expected to increase from a year earlier, though it declined to specify by how much. A spokesman said the watchdog would strengthen inspections of registered shops and tour itineraries to safeguard visitor rights. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau also convened a cross-departmental meeting on Thursday to prepare for the coming Labour Day “golden week” in May, traditionally one of Hong Kong’s peak travel seasons, with officials anticipating “a notable increase in the number of visitors during the period,” a government spokesperson said. Authorities said they would step up crowd control, transport co-ordination and enforcement at tourist hotspots, while urging the trade to stagger itineraries to avoid congestion.

More Hongkongers to travel over long Easter break despite higher costs

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}60 per cent of outbound travellers expected to head to mainland cities, with high-speed rail continuing to gain popularity as the preferred mode of transport

60 per cent of outbound travellers expected to head to mainland cities, with high-speed rail continuing to gain popularity as the preferred mode of transport