Government officials estimate that close to one million mainland tourists—about 980,000 in total—will pass through Hong Kong’s checkpoints between 1 May and 5 May, dwarfing last year’s figure of 710,000 for the same period. The forecast was published by China Daily after observation tours of the Avenue of Stars, Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui revealed dense crowds within hours of the holiday’s start. The Immigration Department has activated its “holiday contingency deployment,” doubling the number of smart e-Channel lanes at the Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay border crossings and extending operating hours at the Heung Yuen Wai Control Point until 02:00 during peak nights. Express ferries between the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Artificial Island and Tsim Sha Tsui have also been added to ease pressure on land ports.
![Immigration Department projects 980,000 mainland arrivals over 5-day holiday]()
If you or your colleagues still need to sort out entry permits or visa renewals amid the surge, VisaHQ’s Hong Kong team can streamline the process—handling China visas, Hong Kong entry permits and other consular paperwork online, often within 24 hours. Learn more at https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/
For businesses, the projections translate into high demand for cross-border buses, hotel rooms and mobile-roaming capacity. Telecom operators CSL and SmarTone have already rolled out short-term, high-data visitor SIM cards, while major malls are hiring extra Putonghua-speaking staff. The government hopes the influx will inject as much as HK$4.2 billion (US$540 million) into the economy, supporting its target of restoring visitor arrivals to 80 per cent of 2019 levels by year-end. Yet urban-planning think tanks caution that sustained spikes could strain public transport nodes and recommend fast-tracking of the planned West Kowloon Arrival Hall expansion. Travel-risk consultants advise corporate security teams to remind employees about pick-pocketing hotspots and to pre-book cross-border car transfers where schedule certainty is critical.
If you or your colleagues still need to sort out entry permits or visa renewals amid the surge, VisaHQ’s Hong Kong team can streamline the process—handling China visas, Hong Kong entry permits and other consular paperwork online, often within 24 hours. Learn more at https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/
For businesses, the projections translate into high demand for cross-border buses, hotel rooms and mobile-roaming capacity. Telecom operators CSL and SmarTone have already rolled out short-term, high-data visitor SIM cards, while major malls are hiring extra Putonghua-speaking staff. The government hopes the influx will inject as much as HK$4.2 billion (US$540 million) into the economy, supporting its target of restoring visitor arrivals to 80 per cent of 2019 levels by year-end. Yet urban-planning think tanks caution that sustained spikes could strain public transport nodes and recommend fast-tracking of the planned West Kowloon Arrival Hall expansion. Travel-risk consultants advise corporate security teams to remind employees about pick-pocketing hotspots and to pre-book cross-border car transfers where schedule certainty is critical.
