Mainland China's National Day Golden Week holiday is drawing to a close. This year, Hong Kong not only welcomed a sizable influx of visitors, but cultural and tourism spending also showed encouraging changes: arriving visitors no longer stopped at shallow sightseeing "check-ins," but efficiently converted into incremental consumption, with the food and beverage and retail sectors benefiting first and injecting strong momentum into Hong Kong's economic development.

Hong Kong SAR Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po previously said that in the first three days of the Golden Week, more than 732,000 mainland visitors arrived in Hong Kong, an increase of about 8.4% year on year. Statistics from the Hong Kong SAR Immigration Department show that in the first six days of the mainland National Day holiday, about 1.3 million mainland visitors came to Hong Kong, already exceeding the seven-day total previously forecast by the SAR government. On October 3, during the mainland National Day holiday, many visitors to Hong Kong came to the Causeway Bay shopping district to shop and spend.

Regarding the steady growth in visitor numbers and continuously rising market heat in Hong Kong during this year's National Day holiday, Hong Kong Tourism Promotion Association executive director Tsui Ting-pong said in an interview with China News Service that the core driving force behind this is the "boost" from a diverse batch of high-quality festive activities. The National Day fireworks display attracted nearly 380,000 people to watch on site, the International Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival was extended twice due to enthusiastic response, and events such as National Day race day and the MTR "Golden Ten Stations Treasure Hunt" all unleashed strong visitor-attraction effects. Tsui Ting-pong believes that matrix publicity and coordinated promotion are also important supports for Hong Kong's cultural and tourism resources to shine despite being tucked away. For example, on the Hong Kong Tourism Board's social platform accounts, content ranges from National Day fireworks viewing food and accommodation guides, to the High Island Reservoir East Dam and Po Pin Chau mountain-sea dual-line hike, to recommendations for Hong Kong's lesser-known hidden "check-in" spots, with high-quality content available in full; high-quality tourism experiences have also prompted many visitors to voluntarily compile and share popular Hong Kong travel guides.

Cultural and tourism heat transmitted to the consumption side and translated into standout results in Hong Kong's food and beverage and retail markets. When reporters visited Kai Tak Mall, Causeway Bay SOGO and other places on the 4th, they found shopping malls crowded with customers and gold, footwear and apparel, and beauty shops packed with people; many restaurants had no empty seats, with diners waiting in long lines, and some popular restaurants even required waiting for more than 100 tables. On October 6, as the mainland National Day holiday neared its end, Hong Kong's streets remained bustling. The photo shows tourists selecting specialty goods at a gift shop in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Retail Management Association chairman Annie Tse Yau On-yee said that during the mainland National Day holiday, about 70% of retailers expected business to grow by a single-digit to double-digit percentage, with eyewear, jewelry and watches, clothing, and cosmetics industries performing well. Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades chairman Simon Wong Ka-wo told China News Service that during the Golden Week, the food and beverage industry's average daily turnover was about HK$250 million, up more than 10% year on year. Wong Ka-wo believes that many visitors this year came from mainland provinces farther from Hong Kong and stayed longer in the city, creating a relatively large direct stimulus for food, beverage, and retail consumption. Combined with multiple favorable conditions such as a moderate recovery in mainland consumers' willingness to spend and the appreciation of the renminbi, this jointly drove visitor flow to effectively transform into incremental consumption.

Looking ahead to the market outlook, Tsui Ting-pong said that the cultural and tourism boom during this Golden Week once again confirmed the conversion logic of major events driving cultural tourism and cultural tourism stimulating consumption. As events such as the "Hong Kong WinterFest" and New Year's Eve countdown are about to arrive, the industry should continue to optimize the supply of tourism products and step up publicity on online platforms, making Hong Kong's golden signboard as a "city of hospitality" shine even brighter.