More Hongkongers to travel over long Easter break despite higher costs

ravel Industry Council executive director Fanny Yeung says recent fuel surcharge increases had not led to cancellations, as travellers had finalised plans by then.

Photo: Eugene Lee More Hongkongers are expected to travel elsewhere during the five-day Easter weekend from Friday despite a sharp jump in fuel surcharges, according to industry leaders.

They also expect more visitors from mainland China during an overlapping Ching Ming Festival holiday, but doubt the influx will deliver any significant boost to the city’s tourism revenue.

Some noted that the Easter break might have encouraged travel to the Middle East, but many tour groups have been cancelled until October due to the US-Israel war on Iran.

This year’s holiday coincides with the mainland’s three-day Ching Ming Festival from Saturday to Monday. “So [the number of] inbound visitors from the mainland may see a slight increase compared with before,” Travel Industry Council executive director Fanny Yeung Shuk-fun said.

Outbound travel, meanwhile, was projected to edge up slightly from a year earlier, with organised tour group numbers estimated at about 1,300 to 1,400 over the Easter holiday, broadly similar to last year, according to Yeung.

She said recent increases in fuel surcharges, including adjustments by airlines starting from mid-March, had not led to cancellations, as most travellers had already finalised their holiday plans by then.

The conflict’s impact, however, was more evident in terms of Hongkongers’ choice of destinations.

Around 60 per cent of outbound travellers were expected to head to mainland cities, with the high-speed rail continuing to gain popularity as the preferred mode of transport. “The share of travellers using high-speed rail has been increasing every year [regardless],” she said. “We’re seeing more people choose it for outbound travel, mainly because pricing is more stable and there are no fuel surcharges or airport taxes.” Meanwhile, long-haul travel demand had weakened, with tour groups to destinations such as Europe estimated to have fallen by at least 40 per cent.

Yeung attributed this to disruptions linked to instability in the Middle East. “I believe about 90 per cent of [Hong Kong tour groups] use Middle Eastern airlines.

This means their transit must go through the Middle East,” she explained. “Due to the current war, these tours have all been cancelled. “The remaining options might involve direct flights or flying through other locations, but the pric

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