Barely 24 hours after releasing three-day holiday data, the Immigration Department published a broader five-day snapshot covering 31 December to 4 January: 5,412,003 cross-boundary trips in total. New-Year’s Day alone saw 1.18 million crossings, confirming that pent-up demand from both leisure and business travellers has returned with a vengeance. ([visahq.com](https://www.visahq.com/news/2026-01-05/cn/hong-kong-counts-54-million-mainland-linked-trips-over-new-year-break-signalling-greater-bay-area-rebound/?utm_source=openai))
Of particular note is the composition of arrivals. Mainland Chinese visitors numbered 741,652—almost 14 per cent of all movements and a 48 per cent increase on the previous year. The figures suggest Beijing’s domestic travel incentives and a stronger renminbi are combining to make Hong Kong attractive again for short-haul meetings and shopping runs. Airport traffic also ticked up thanks to restored Cathay Pacific and Air China frequencies, while the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge handled 310,000 crossings, underscoring the growing importance of multi-modal links within the Greater Bay Area.
For corporates the data matter because visitor mix drives both hotel pricing and conference-room availability. Hoteliers report that average daily rates over the period were 18 per cent higher than a year earlier, and weekday occupancy in core business districts exceeded 85 per cent for the first time since 2019. Mobility planners arranging kick-off meetings or training sessions this quarter should therefore secure room blocks early and budget for higher incidental costs.
![Immigration Department logs 5.4 million trips over five-day New-Year period, signalling full rebound]()
Whether you’re a leisure traveller heading south for shopping or a procurement manager coordinating pan–Greater Bay Area teams, VisaHQ can simplify the paperwork. Through its Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) the service aggregates visa and entry-permit requirements, offers online filing and real-time tracking, and provides corporate dashboards that scale with volume—saving precious hours as cross-boundary traffic accelerates.
Policy-makers are also watching the numbers: the Tourism Board said it will maintain the overnight operation of Lo Wu and Shenzhen Bay checkpoints during Lunar New Year if daily crossings stay above 900,000. That would create a more predictable environment for freight forwarders moving perishables and e-commerce parcels overnight—a peripheral but important boost to supply-chain reliability.
Companies with cross-border commuters should brief staff on likely congestion dates (Lunar New Year falls 17–23 February) and encourage use of the real-time queue-length function in the ImmD app. Meanwhile, HR teams should revisit relocation allowances; with mobility friction falling, more employees may choose to reside in Shenzhen or Zhuhai while maintaining Hong Kong office contracts.
Of particular note is the composition of arrivals. Mainland Chinese visitors numbered 741,652—almost 14 per cent of all movements and a 48 per cent increase on the previous year. The figures suggest Beijing’s domestic travel incentives and a stronger renminbi are combining to make Hong Kong attractive again for short-haul meetings and shopping runs. Airport traffic also ticked up thanks to restored Cathay Pacific and Air China frequencies, while the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge handled 310,000 crossings, underscoring the growing importance of multi-modal links within the Greater Bay Area.
For corporates the data matter because visitor mix drives both hotel pricing and conference-room availability. Hoteliers report that average daily rates over the period were 18 per cent higher than a year earlier, and weekday occupancy in core business districts exceeded 85 per cent for the first time since 2019. Mobility planners arranging kick-off meetings or training sessions this quarter should therefore secure room blocks early and budget for higher incidental costs.
Whether you’re a leisure traveller heading south for shopping or a procurement manager coordinating pan–Greater Bay Area teams, VisaHQ can simplify the paperwork. Through its Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) the service aggregates visa and entry-permit requirements, offers online filing and real-time tracking, and provides corporate dashboards that scale with volume—saving precious hours as cross-boundary traffic accelerates.
Policy-makers are also watching the numbers: the Tourism Board said it will maintain the overnight operation of Lo Wu and Shenzhen Bay checkpoints during Lunar New Year if daily crossings stay above 900,000. That would create a more predictable environment for freight forwarders moving perishables and e-commerce parcels overnight—a peripheral but important boost to supply-chain reliability.
Companies with cross-border commuters should brief staff on likely congestion dates (Lunar New Year falls 17–23 February) and encourage use of the real-time queue-length function in the ImmD app. Meanwhile, HR teams should revisit relocation allowances; with mobility friction falling, more employees may choose to reside in Shenzhen or Zhuhai while maintaining Hong Kong office contracts.
