Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki convened an inter-departmental meeting on 20 April to coordinate border and crowd-control preparations ahead of the five-day Labour Day Golden Week (1–5 May).
![Hong Kong Activates Holiday Command Centre as 980 000 Mainland Visitors Expected for Labour Day Golden Week]()
Travellers who still need to secure the appropriate entry documents can streamline the process online: VisaHQ’s Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) provides up-to-date guidance on mainland multiple-entry permits, Hong Kong visas and transit requirements, and can arrange fast, reliable processing—saving valuable time for both leisure visitors and corporate staff navigating the Labour Day rush.
The Immigration Department projects that almost one million mainland Chinese travellers will enter Hong Kong by land, sea and air, while the Travel Industry Authority anticipates 770 inbound tour groups. To cope with the surge, an expanded joint-command centre—comprising Police, Immigration, Customs and other agencies—will operate around the clock. A dedicated hotline with Shenzhen port authorities will allow real-time adjustments of staffing levels and lane allocation at key boundary checkpoints such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang and Shenzhen Bay. Transport operators are also scaling up: the MTR Corporation will run additional East Rail Line services, while shuttle-bus frequencies on the bridge and cross-border coach routes will rise to as little as one minute at peak. In Sai Kung—popular with self-drive visitors—police will deploy extra traffic teams and the Transport Department will boost green-minibus services to remote country-park carparks. For hoteliers and retailers, the expected visitor volume represents the first true post-pandemic Golden Week. Industry groups predict occupancy rates above 90 % and advise employers to verify that part-time workers from the mainland hold valid multiple-entry endorsements. Corporates scheduling meetings in early May should book venues well in advance and caution travelling executives about potential delays at immigration e-channels. Officials emphasise that lessons learned from last October’s National Day holiday—when arrivals exceeded forecasts by 12 %—have informed new contingency plans, including overflow holding areas and multilingual alert apps. Success in delivering a smooth experience is seen as crucial to Hong Kong’s reputation as a seamless gateway to the Greater Bay Area.
Travellers who still need to secure the appropriate entry documents can streamline the process online: VisaHQ’s Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) provides up-to-date guidance on mainland multiple-entry permits, Hong Kong visas and transit requirements, and can arrange fast, reliable processing—saving valuable time for both leisure visitors and corporate staff navigating the Labour Day rush.
The Immigration Department projects that almost one million mainland Chinese travellers will enter Hong Kong by land, sea and air, while the Travel Industry Authority anticipates 770 inbound tour groups. To cope with the surge, an expanded joint-command centre—comprising Police, Immigration, Customs and other agencies—will operate around the clock. A dedicated hotline with Shenzhen port authorities will allow real-time adjustments of staffing levels and lane allocation at key boundary checkpoints such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang and Shenzhen Bay. Transport operators are also scaling up: the MTR Corporation will run additional East Rail Line services, while shuttle-bus frequencies on the bridge and cross-border coach routes will rise to as little as one minute at peak. In Sai Kung—popular with self-drive visitors—police will deploy extra traffic teams and the Transport Department will boost green-minibus services to remote country-park carparks. For hoteliers and retailers, the expected visitor volume represents the first true post-pandemic Golden Week. Industry groups predict occupancy rates above 90 % and advise employers to verify that part-time workers from the mainland hold valid multiple-entry endorsements. Corporates scheduling meetings in early May should book venues well in advance and caution travelling executives about potential delays at immigration e-channels. Officials emphasise that lessons learned from last October’s National Day holiday—when arrivals exceeded forecasts by 12 %—have informed new contingency plans, including overflow holding areas and multilingual alert apps. Success in delivering a smooth experience is seen as crucial to Hong Kong’s reputation as a seamless gateway to the Greater Bay Area.
