Hong Kong Welcomes 460,000 Visitors During Successful Tuen Ng Festival Long Weekend

Interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements summarises visitor arrivals to Hong Kong during Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of Mainland

The interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements, led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (June 3) announced that around 460 000 visitor arrivals were recorded during the three-day Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland (May 31 to June 2), representing a year-on-year increase of about 11 per cent. All arrangements for receiving visitors operated smoothly.

Mr Chan said, "Following the Labour Day Golden Week, we once again successfully promoted the integration of culture and tourism during this year's Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland, enabling both visitors and the general public to experience Hong Kong's unique festive atmosphere. On the Dragon Boat Festival day, the Dragon Boat Food Lane and festive photo spots at the Avenue of Stars organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board attracted the public and visitors to taste local delicacies and take photos as mementos. In addition to dragon boat races held across various districts, Tai O held the unique Dragon Boat Water Parade, where sacred sampans carrying deity statues, towed by dragon boats along Tai O's waterways, prayed for the well-being of the local community. The event attracted a large number of tourists and locals to experience Hong Kong's authentic Dragon Boat Festival culture. During the long weekend, the opening ceremony and carnival of Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Month 2025 took place at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza in Tsim Sha Tsui. Many visitors took the opportunity to enjoy the performances and participate in booth activities, experiencing Hong Kong's rich intangible cultural heritage up close. Furthermore, the popularity of the movie 'Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In' attracted numerous tourists to visit the Kowloon Walled City Park, taking photos and exploring the newly opened 'Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey' Movie Set Exhibition, which exemplifies the successful integration of Hong Kong's film culture and tourism."

Visitor flow, situation of control points, and traffic and public transport arrangements

During the Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland, the Immigration Department recorded a total of around 460 000 inbound visitors to Hong Kong through various sea, land and air control points. Among them, Mainland visitors accounted for about 360 000, representing a year-on-year increase of about 10 per cent and around 80 per cent of the total arrivals; and the number of non-Mainland visitors was around 94 000, representing a year-on-year increase of about 14 per cent.

The arrival of Mainland visitors peaked on May 31 with around 140 000 Mainland visitors arriving in Hong Kong. During the long weekend, 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.

The Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre of the Transport Department (TD) operated round the clock throughout the long weekend to holistically monitor the traffic conditions and public transport services of all districts, including boundary control points (BCPs), major stations and various tourist hotspots, across the territory. During the period, the TD directed local and cross-boundary public transport operators (PTOs) to enhance their carrying capacity, including increasing the frequency of bus and green minibus services connecting various land-based BCPs and strengthening cross-boundary coach services, to meet visitors' demand. PTOs also deployed additional staff to maintain order and reserved sufficient vehicles and manpower to further enhance services when necessary.

During the long weekend, the overall operation of the control points, traffic conditions and transport services were mostly smooth.

Major tourist attractions

Visitors went to different parts of Hong Kong during the Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland, with high visitor flow observed at major tourist attractions, including the West Kowloon Cultural District, Ocean Park, Hong Kong Disneyland, the Peak Tram and Ngong Ping 360. Smooth and effective crowd management measures were implemented.

Mr Chan expressed his gratitude to the relevant government departments, organisations and industries for their dedication and collaboration in making comprehensive preparations. By consolidating the experience gained from receiving visitors during the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland in early May, they provided visitors and the public with a high-quality experience during the Tuen Ng Festival long weekend of the Mainland.

Notes exchange service and electronic lai-see for Chinese New Year

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

As the Chinese New Year draws near, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the three note-issuing banks (The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited and Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited) announced today (January 13) that new notes and good-as-new notes, i.e. used notes which are in good condition and suitable for use as lai-see, will be available for exchange at branches of the three note-issuing banks from February 3 (Tuesday) to February 16 (Monday).

The HKMA encourages the public to use electronic channels including the Faster Payment System available via online or mobile banking, or other e-wallet services for giving lai-see. Giving electronic lai-see is simple and convenient, and will contribute to sustainable development by reducing the usage of physical red packets and banknotes. Major banks and electronic payment operators will encourage giving electronic lai-see by various promotional programmes. The public may refer to the details of these programmes as and when announced by banks and operators.

The three note-issuing banks will put in place appropriate measures to facilitate the notes exchange, including:

(1)

Advancing the opening hour to 8am on the first 3 days of the service period, i.e. February 3 (Tuesday) to February 5 (Thursday), and dedicating the aforesaid additional operation hour, i.e. 8am to 9am, exclusively for providing the notes exchange service;

(2)

Offering online booking service for both new notes and good-as-new notes starting from January 27 (Tuesday), details of which will be announced by individual note-issuing banks within next week; and

(3)

Putting in place crowd management measures such as distributing physical tickets and implementing queue management when needed.

Members of the public who desire to use cash for giving lai-see may wish to check for any remaining stock of new notes or good-as-new notes at home before going to a bank. Also, there is no need to rush to exchange for new notes and good-as-new notes during the first few days of the service period as banks will ensure the supply of these notes throughout the service period.

Source: AI-found images