Hong Kong draws over 1 million mainland ‘golden week’ visitors but spending lags

Hong Kong received more than 1 million mainland Chinese visitors during the five-day Labour Day “golden week” holiday, a 10 per cent rise from a year ago, exceeding government expectations, but industry leaders said their spending was inconsistent.Immigration Department data showed the city recorded 1.01 million mainland visitor arrivals between May 1 and 5, surpassing the forecast of 980,000.Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said on Wednesday some shopping centre operators had reported year-on-year double-digit increases, while the catering sector noted that business in tourist areas rose about 20 per cent compared with the same period last year.