National Day Golden Week and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday concludes
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Mr Chan said, "This year's National Day Golden Week coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival, offering a wide array of vibrant activities throughout the holiday period. In addition to the National Day fireworks display and the National Day Raceday held on October 1, there were celebrations showcasing Hong Kong's intangible cultural heritage, such as the Tai Hang fire dragon dance, the legendary LED Fire Dragon Fiesta at Lee Tung Avenue in Wan Chai, and district-wide Mid-Autumn lantern carnivals. Meanwhile, the Government and various sectors of the community introduced a series of special offers and activities spanning public transport, culture and arts, leisure, dining and shopping to celebrate the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the Mid-Autumn Festival with tourists and the public, enabling them to experience the festive ambience displaying the charm of Hong Kong."
Visitor flow, situation of control points, and traffic and public transport arrangements
Mainland inbound visitor arrivals peaked on October 1 with over 230 000 visitors arriving in Hong Kong. During the National Day Golden Week, the Express Rail Link West Kowloon Control Point received the highest number of Mainland visitors, followed by the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point.
Relevant departments deployed additional manpower and operated additional counters and channels to facilitate passenger and vehicular flows. The Security Bureau activated the Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre from October 1 to 8 to closely monitor and co-ordinate the public order situation at various boundary control points (BCPs). The overall operation of the BCPs and traffic were smooth and orderly.
The Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre of the Transport Department (TD) operated round the clock to holistically monitor traffic conditions and public transport services across the territory, including BCPs, major stations and various tourist hotspots. The TD guided local and cross-boundary public transport operators (PTOs) to enhance their carrying capacity, including increasing the frequency of bus services connecting various land-based BCPs and strengthening cross-boundary coach services, to meet passenger demand. In addition, PTOs deployed additional staff to maintain order and reserved sufficient vehicles and manpower to further enhance services when necessary. During the National Day Golden Week, the overall traffic conditions were generally smooth.
The Security Bureau launched "Easy Boundary", a one-stop information platform on immigration clearance on September 22 this year, which provides rough estimates of the average waiting time for passengers and private cars at land BCPs, and useful information such as road traffic conditions and ad-hoc situations in the vicinity of BCPs, enabling visitors to plan their cross-boundary trips. The TD also provided information on the service and waiting time of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) shuttle bus (Gold Bus), the Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle bus (Yellow Bus) and MTR on "Easy Boundary" and the HKeMobility mobile app.
Mega events and major tourist attractions
The National Day Fireworks Display over Victoria Harbour on October 1 attracted over 340 000 spectators. The event concluded with effective crowd control arrangements and was well-received by local residents and tourists. The Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance also drew an audience of over 100 000 spectators, offering them a chance to witness the charm of this national intangible cultural heritage. The Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival 2025 held at Victoria Park for eight days attracted over 380 000 visitors to experience the festive atmosphere.
Visitors to Hong Kong during the National Day Golden Week were spread across different tourist attractions in the city. High visitor flows were observed at major tourist attractions including theme parks, the Peak, Ngong Ping, Avenue of Stars, as well as outlying islands and various hiking trails. Smooth and effective crowd management measures were implemented.
During the National Day Golden Week, a total of about 12 100 visitors visited the High Island Reservoir East Dam. Through the concerted efforts of various departments, order at the East Dam was well maintained and minibus services between Pak Tam Chung and the East Dam generally operated smoothly. Furthermore, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) enhanced promotional efforts and cleaning services to maintain the cleanliness of the local environment. In response to the increased traffic and visitor flow, the Government implemented a series of traffic management and information dissemination measures in the area around the East Dam. These included increasing the frequency of the Green Minibus Route No. 9A (Pak Tam Chung - The East Dam, High Island Reservoir). The Police deployed uniformed officers to patrol strategic locations at Pak Tam Chung, Sai Kung Man Yee Road, and the East Dam to ensure the safety of visitors, and implemented crowd management measures when necessary, with temporary traffic lights and information display screens installed at both ends of the narrow section of the Sai Kung Man Yee Road to implement temporary traffic control during peak hours, thereby ensuring traffic safety. The AFCD website and the Hong Kong Tourism Board's website published visitor flow information of the East Dam area, enabling visitors to better plan their trips.
The AFCD, the Marine Department and the Police mounted joint operations for four consecutive days starting from October 5 by deploying vessels and staff to patrol the Sai Kung Public Pier, Sharp Island and Hap Mun Bay to distribute leaflets to vessel operators and visitors, reminding them to protect nature and disseminating messages related to maritime safety, "Take Your Litter Home", not disturbing or harming wildlife, etc. They also inspected to see if any illegal acts were conducted. Vessel operators and visitors generally co-operated with the Government’s joint operations. The AFCD, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department also deployed staff to enhance cleaning services on Sharp Island. The Government will review this National Day Golden Week's experience to enhance various aspects and to explore further measures to strengthen ecological conservation.
Inbound tour groups and hotel occupancy rates
In terms of Mainland inbound tour groups, around 1 300 Mainland inbound tour groups brought nearly 49 000 visitors to Hong Kong during the eight-day National Day Golden Week, with around 60 per cent engaged in overnight itineraries. The number of tour groups exceeded the record of last year's seven-day National Day Golden Week by 24 per cent. The tour groups were generally in good order. The overall hotel occupancy rate reached 90 per cent in general.
Mr Chan said he is delighted to see that the series of festive events and National Day special offers were well received, bringing a vibrant atmosphere to Hong Kong. Businesses also responded positively, noting that these events effectively stimulated spending among both local residents and visitors. He expressed gratitude to all relevant government departments, organisations and industry partners for their collaborative efforts in preparing to welcome visitors, as well as to residents for their co-operation in creating a warm, home-away-from-home travel experience for those visiting Hong Kong.
Ends/Thursday, October 9, 2025
Issued at HKT 20:09
Issued at HKT 20:09
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