Hongkongers make 2.2 million trips as Christmas travel peaks

Last year, 1.9 million residents left the city during the five days from December 22 to 26. During the same period, there were 679,000 visitors, about 75 per cent of whom were from the mainland.

Immigration authorities earlier predicted more than 13 million passenger trips would be made over the Christmas and New Year holidays, with the number of departures via land border crossings estimated to peak at about 595,000 on Christmas Day.

Some residents told the SCMP they were only staying home for Christmas to avoid peak pricing, saying the city still had ample room for improvement to attract tourists and locals.

Hong Kong’s Christmas cheer draws tourists while locals head out

Among the residents remaining behind were young families queued up at the West Kowloon Cultural District on Christmas Day for activities such as the Big Bounce Hong Kong, the world’s largest touring inflatable event.

The four restaurants along the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade were packed with customers waiting their turn to secure a coveted table.

Stephanie Lee, who spent Wednesday morning walking her dog along the promenade, said she stayed in the city because it was “too expensive” to travel during the peak season.

The 30-year-old said she would go to Japan after the two-day public holiday and return before the New Year.

“I think the festive vibes this year are much better than those of last year. There are more people and more events being held,” she said.

But Lee argued the city still lagged behind in enhancing its attractiveness as many holiday offerings in Hong Kong were more or less the same over the past years.

“Southeast Asian countries, which I have often visited, have a variety of things to offer every time I am there,” she added.

Also opting to travel after the peak season was Norman Tse, who works in a bank. He was spending some quality time with his two-year-old son in the area.

“Hong Kong is still attractive to mainland Chinese tourists, as Christmas is not observed in their home cities. But for international travellers, Hong Kong has little to offer,” he said.

Semi-retired Neal Chong, on the other hand, paid a visit to Shenzhen two days before Christmas for a holiday dinner, in which he noticed a price hike.

Chong, in his late 50s, added that he felt people in Hong Kong were happier this year.

“I am just judging by what they wear. This year, I saw many of them with colourful clothes and even accessories, like those cute hats. The vibe is good,” he said.

Chong said the city would suffer if it did not work on enhancing the quality of its services.

“No one likes to pay for bad service. Hong Kong still has great room to improve in this regard,” he added.

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Meanwhile, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and his wife invited families from the Nam Cheong “community living room” to a Christmas party at Government House on Wednesday.

The “community living room” is a government-led poverty relief programme providing underprivileged families living in subdivided homes with extra space to do homework, shower, cook and eat. The city now has four such rooms in Sham Shui Po, To Kwa Wan, Hung Hom and Nam Cheong.

Lee and his wife invited the families to make Christmas wreaths, draw and write cards to hang on the Christmas tree at the chief executive’s official residence.

“I was delighted to hear from the parents and children from the community living rooms that the extra space provided has improved their quality of life,” he wrote in a social media post.

“Their blessings and encouragement have inspired me to continue working hard in governing for the betterment and happiness of the people.”