Just one day after the raucous countdown parties, Hong Kong logged a second tourism milestone: 215,332 mainland Chinese visitors arrived on 1 January—more than twice the 106,290 recorded on the same day a year earlier . Overall arrivals, including foreigners, hit 256,108, up 88 % year-on-year.
Industry analysts attribute the boom to a rare three-day mainland public holiday and newly tense China–Japan relations that pushed many would-be Tokyo shoppers south to the SAR. Hoteliers report that packages combining concert tickets, retail coupons and rail passes proved especially popular.
![Mainland Arrivals on New Year’s Day Double 2025 Levels, Immigration Department Says]()
For travellers sorting out entry paperwork amid such surges, VisaHQ’s Hong Kong platform (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers a one-stop solution for visas and permits, pairing real-time requirement updates with online filing and courier pick-up services—saving both corporate mobility teams and individual tourists precious time when consulate slots are scarce.
The spike tested land checkpoints: Lo Wu handled over 200,000 crossings in 24 hours, while high-speed-rail capacity at West Kowloon reached 95 % utilisation. Despite queues, no major incidents were reported—a sign that the Immigration Department’s expanded e-Channel gates and pre-arrival declaration app are absorbing volume.
For global-mobility teams relocating staff from the mainland, the data suggest that extended mainland holidays will once again distort air- and rail-ticket availability in 2026; early booking and flexible routing (e.g., via the Shenzhen–Hong Kong Western Corridor) are recommended.
Industry analysts attribute the boom to a rare three-day mainland public holiday and newly tense China–Japan relations that pushed many would-be Tokyo shoppers south to the SAR. Hoteliers report that packages combining concert tickets, retail coupons and rail passes proved especially popular.
For travellers sorting out entry paperwork amid such surges, VisaHQ’s Hong Kong platform (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers a one-stop solution for visas and permits, pairing real-time requirement updates with online filing and courier pick-up services—saving both corporate mobility teams and individual tourists precious time when consulate slots are scarce.
The spike tested land checkpoints: Lo Wu handled over 200,000 crossings in 24 hours, while high-speed-rail capacity at West Kowloon reached 95 % utilisation. Despite queues, no major incidents were reported—a sign that the Immigration Department’s expanded e-Channel gates and pre-arrival declaration app are absorbing volume.
For global-mobility teams relocating staff from the mainland, the data suggest that extended mainland holidays will once again distort air- and rail-ticket availability in 2026; early booking and flexible routing (e.g., via the Shenzhen–Hong Kong Western Corridor) are recommended.
