More Hongkongers to travel over long Easter break despite higher costs

More Hongkongers are expected to travel elsewhere during the five-day Easter weekend from Friday despite a sharp jump in fuel surcharges, according to industry leaders.They also expect more visitors from Mainland China during an overlapping Ching Ming Festival holiday, but doubt the influx will deliver any significant boost to the city’s tourism revenue.Some noted that the Easter break might have encouraged travel to the Middle East, but many tour groups have been cancelled until October due to the US-Israel war on Iran.This year’s holiday coincides with the mainland’s three-day Ching Ming Festival from Saturday to Monday.“So [the number of] inbound visitors from the mainland may see a slight increase compared with before,” Travel Industry Council executive director Fanny Yeung Shuk-fun said.Outbound travel, meanwhile, was projected to edge up slightly from a year earlier, with organised tour group numbers estimated at about 1,300 to 1,400 over the Easter holiday, broadly similar to last year, according to Yeung.