【明報專訊】THE LABOUR DAY GOLDEN WEEK has drawn to a close, bringing another post-pandemic record for mainland tourists to Hong Kong. The holiday is the peak travel season for mainlanders—not only Hong Kong, but cities like Beijing and Shanghai were also awash with visitors. Such moments put the service and hospitality capacity of major cities to the test. For the Hong Kong SAR government, this ought to prompt serious stocktaking. Crowd management, in particular, demands sharper coordination. It is not simply a matter of building more infrastructure; the authorities should consider how to better spread visitor traffic, avoiding dangerous bottlenecks at already overburdened sites.
Based on initial feedback from the industry, business performance during the Golden Week appeared strong. Sales of cosmetics and dried seafood were up around 30% compared to last year, while queues outside the luxury shops along Canton Road once again snaked round the block. Amid continued global market volatility, gold has been in high demand, and many mainlanders are keen to purchase gold jewellery during their Hong Kong trip. One local jeweller reported footfall and turnover both up by roughly a third year-on-year. With the Hong Kong dollar weakening in step with the greenback, confidence is growing that the city can further cement its appeal as a haven for tourists to buy gold for wealth preservation. Meanwhile, hotels in districts like Yau Tsim Mong, Causeway Bay and Wan Chai also enjoyed brisk business.
During the Golden Week, many popular attractions, such as the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui and the Hong Kong Observation Wheel in Central, were packed throughout the day. The Star Ferry saw long queues. Some social media–promoted ''check-in spots'', such as the footbridge outside Mong Kok East Station, were jammed with sightseers. Traffic heading to the East Dam of High Island Reservoir became so snarled up that police were called in to impose tidal flow operations. At the Lok Ma Chau MTR station, excessive demand for mobile QR code payments caused network slowdowns, leaving many visitors unable to scan QR codes to exit the station. The platform became so overcrowded that the MTR temporarily allowed passengers to exit without tapping to ease the congestion.
All of this has rekindled an old debate: how much mass tourism can the city realistically absorb, and what is the strategy for its tourism development? Fragile natural sites are especially vulnerable to crowds— but even urban attractions have limits, and when those are overwhelmed, ordinary life becomes difficult for residents. The government sorely needs a more refined approach to visitor management.
Take ecotourism as an example. Hong Kong is not short of natural and cultural gems in its outskirts. The authorities should make better use of targeted messaging to steer tourists toward different destinations. For the most sensitive eco-sites, a quota system is worth considering. In the city centre, too, real-time updates via popular mainland social media platforms could help redirect footfall by flagging when hotspots are approaching saturation. Many tourists, given the choice, would rather avoid the crush.
It's worth noting that Hong Kong is not alone in feeling the strain, major cities like Beijing and Shanghai also experienced massive crowds. Beijing welcomed some 3.45 million visitors on the first day of Golden Week alone, with long queues forming at landmark sites and sightseeing bus stops alike. Local cultural and tourism authorities introduced seven city walking routes to help spread footfall across neighbourhoods. The routes wove through shopping malls, parks and museums, at which new facilities or activities were launched, catering to diverse tourist needs. There may be lessons here for Hong Kong: a more collaborative dialogue with major mainland cities' tourism departments could help it borrow from best practices elsewhere.
明報社評 2025.05.06：黃金周刺激市道 人流管理要改善
五一黃金周結束，期內訪港的內地旅客再破疫後紀錄。五一長假期是內地人出遊的旺季，除了香港，北京、上海等地同樣遊人處處，正是體現各大城市服務和接待能力的時刻。特區政府需要梳理今次黃金周期間所出現的問題，改善人流管理等安排，除了硬件擴容，當局也應思考如何加強分散遊客，以免部分景點嚴重超負荷。
觀乎業界初步說法，黃金周生意似乎不錯，化妝品、海味等生意額較去年同期上升約三成，尖沙嘴廣東道名店外也再現人龍。近月環球市場波動，黃金受到追捧，不少內地客也趁五一長假來港的機會，購買金飾，有本地金舖表示，人流及生意額按年均多了三成，隨着港匯跟隨美元轉弱，有信心未來可吸引更多旅客在港買金保值。酒店業方面，油尖旺與銅鑼灣、灣仔一帶酒店的營業額也相當好。
黃金周期間，尖沙嘴星光大道、中環摩天輪等熱門景點全日「迫爆」，天星小輪大排長龍，內地社交平台介紹的一些「打卡位」，諸如旺角東車站外天橋等也人山人海。來往東壩的交通也一度嚴重擠塞，警方需實施潮水式交通管制。港鐵落馬洲站一度因太多人同時啟動手機二維碼付款，導致網絡緩慢，不少旅客無法上網「掃碼」出閘，月台擠滿乘客，為了疏導人流，港鐵須短暫容許不拍卡出閘。
黃金周遊客「墟冚」情况，再次引起有關社會承受力，以及旅遊業發展策略的討論。生態旅遊景點環境脆弱，遊人太多固然對當地生態造成重大壓力；就算是市區景點，遊人過多亦會對市民造成不便，政府有必要思考，如何更有效分流旅客。
以生態旅遊為例，香港郊區不乏自然人文美景，當局可以善用各種宣傳渠道，鼓勵、引導旅客分散到不同景點，並研究針對一些生態旅遊景點，引入配額安排限制人流。市區方面，可以善用內地社交平台等渠道，向旅客發放實時信息，提示「打卡熱點」人流擁擠情况。旅客若嫌人太多，自然會趨避。
黃金周遊客迫爆並非香港獨有，北京、上海等大城市同樣人山人海。北京黃金周首天就接待了345萬人次旅客，著名景點人頭湧湧，觀光巴士站大排長龍。為疏導人潮，當地文旅部門推介了7條城市漫步路線，沿途的商場、公園及博物館等配合推出新設施或活動，滿足不同遊客需要。特區政府可多與內地大城市文旅部門交流，借鑑別人成功的經驗。
■/ Glossary 生字 /
stocktaking：the process of thinking carefully about your own situation or position
brisk：active and energetic
snarl up：to involve sb/sth in a situation that stops their movement or progress; to become involved in a situation like this