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Danny Mok

Hong Kong authorities are looking at implementing a booking system and charging fees for camping hotspots as part of a review of management strategies in response to public concerns about overcrowded beaches and litter during the Lunar New Year holiday.
The Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) posted its plan on its Facebook page on Sunday after campers and hikers called for stronger public education, law enforcement and limits on visitor numbers at popular sites.
At Ham Tin Wan in Sai Kung, a beach popular among campers and tourists, more than 900 tents were erected over Thursday and Friday nights, Greenpeace reported.
And 42 per cent of the 166 tents spotted at Sai Wan on Thursday evening were pitched outside designated areas.
The AFCD said it was “deeply concerned” about how to protect the ecology of Sai Kung East Country Park given the influx of visitors, adding that it had drawn up a management plan before the Lunar New Year “golden week” holiday, which started on February 15 and runs until Monday.
To address these issues, staff have been deployed to promote camping etiquette, patrol the area and enforce regulations.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department also stationed attendants at public toilets at Ham Tin Wan.
The AFCD is now studying long-term management strategies for popular sites, drawing from lessons learned during golden week. Options under consideration include introducing a reservation system and implementing fees.
“The department plans to consult the Legislative Council in the second half of the year,” it said in the post.
As of 11am on Sunday, AFCD officers had conducted 26 enforcement actions at the MacLehose Trail and nearby campsites, including beaches at Ham Tin Wan, Sai Wan and Long Ke Wan.
Offences included littering and illegal fires outside barbecue pits or campsites.

Greenpeace said on Sunday that after repeated overcrowding at High Island Reservoir East Dam during the May Day holiday and at Sharp Island during National Day last year, the government was finally addressing overtourism and environmental damage at Sai Kung’s tourist hotspots.
The group urged the AFCD to learn from the recent overcrowding incidents at Ham Tin Wan and Sai Wan and called on the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau to proactively assess visitor demand and travel patterns rather than relying on short-term “painkiller” measures.
A visit by the South China Morning Post to Ham Tin Wan on Saturday found about 50 visitors and 30 tents. Empty plastic bottles, tissue paper and chocolate wrappers littered the sand and bushes.
In a public toilet, food scraps and rice clogged the sink and covered the floor before cleaners arrived, despite signs warning against discarding food or washing utensils.
AFCD officers were seen reminding campers to take their litter home.
The department said that since the start of golden week, order and hygiene at the Sai Kung East Country Park hotspots and campsites had remained generally in line with expectations, with no significant damage or loss of crowd control.
At Sai Wan, no illegal camping was reported on Saturday.


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Hong Kong tourism

Hong Kong eyes booking system, fees after campers overrun hotspots

Rubbish bins at Ham Tin Wan during the Lunar New Year holiday. Photo: Edmond So

Signs of illegal campfires at Ham Tin Wan beach during the holiday. Photo: Edmond So

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Tourists pose for pictures at Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai. Photo: Dickson Lee

Fireworks at Tsim Sha Tsui. A tourism expert has said he expects fireworks to draw visitors to Hong Kong. Photo: Nora Tam

Hong Kong urged to protect Sai Kung islands from overtourism, ecological damage

A site inspection by Greenpeace found that 4,062 people landed on Sharp Island on Wednesday, the first day of the National Day “golden week” holiday. Photo: Handout

Greenpeace says an “excessive number of tourists” also gathered for snorkelling near Sharp Island, with some “trampling directly on the coral surface”. Photo: Handout

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Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department reveals plan amid calls for stronger public education, law enforcement and visitor limits at popular sites


Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department reveals plan amid calls for stronger public education, law enforcement and visitor limits at popular sites.


Hong Kong eyes booking system, fees after campers overrun hotspots

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department reveals plan amid calls for stronger public education, law enforcement and visitor limits at popular sites

Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department reveals plan amid calls for stronger public education, law enforcement and visitor limits at popular sites