Hong Kong's Central district is bustling with tourists during the May Day holiday on May 3, 2025. Photo: VCG

Around 1.1 million visitors came to Hong Kong during the just-concluded May Day holiday, marking a year-on-year increase of 22 percent. Among them, visitors from Chinese mainland increased by about 20 percent, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive John Lee said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

On a single-day basis, the highest number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong was recorded on May 2, with 267,000 entries, representing an increase of about 40 percent year-on-year, Lee said, according to local media RTHK.

The number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong during the five-day holiday reached a post-pandemic high, local media Wen Wei Po reported on Tuesday. As of 9 pm Monday, a total of 913,000 mainland visitor entries were recorded over the five days, surpassing the 766,000 recorded during the same period last year, according to the report.

Many tourists, before departing on the final day of the holiday, made a point of shopping for gold jewelry in Tsim Sha Tsui, with some even lining up outside jewelry stores before they opened, Wen Wei Po added.

Industry insiders said that sales in the jewelry and gold sector during this May Day holiday rose by more than 30 percent year-on-year. The retail and catering sectors also reported higher revenues, while cosmetics and dried seafood sales saw nearly 30 percent growth, according to the media report.

The strong performance has been described as a much-needed boost to the city's sluggish retail market, Wen Wei Po reported.

A mainland visitor from Beijing, surnamed Liu, who spent four days in Hong Kong, told the Global Times that accommodation and airfare were about double the usual prices. "But personally, I found dining in Hong Kong to be affordable," she said, adding that public transportation was also quite convenient.

"Compared to 10 years ago, Hong Kong has become much more convenient for mainland tourists. The customs process is also significantly shorter than it used to be. I barely used any cash, except for topping up the Octopus card (an electronic payment system in Hong Kong using a contactless smart card) at a few places," she said.

Peter Shiu Ka-fai, a local lawmaker representing the wholesale and retail sector, told the Global Times on Tuesday that foot traffic during this year's May Day holiday increased compared to last year, largely due to the expansion of mainland individual visit cities and the reinstatement of Shenzhen's multiple-entry policy.

"These factors contributed to a positive retail atmosphere. In addition, with Mother's Day approaching, some local residents were also out shopping for gifts, further boosting retail figures over the past few days," Shiu said.

According to industry sources, sales of jewelry, cosmetics, and dried seafood in some tourist areas rose by nearly 30 percent, Shiu added, noting that this was a much-needed boost to the city's sluggish retail market."

As many mainland visitors visited Hong Kong during the holiday, at MTR's Lok Ma Chau Station on Friday, the mobile network crashed, leaving many tourists unable to purchase tickets via Alipay or WeChat Pay, HK01 said.

Lee said at the press briefing that there should be a review on how to better leverage technology, including enhancing mobile network capacity in high-traffic areas, using technology to monitor crowd flows, providing real-time updates online on crowd levels and waiting times, and offering mobile or online queue reservation systems.

He also emphasized the importance of strengthening contingency plans to respond to unexpected situations.