Hong Kong's Easter holiday began yesterday (April 3), with large outbound crowds building up at multiple cross-boundary checkpoints. According to Immigration Department (ImmD) figures, as of 9:00 p.m. yesterday, the city recorded more than 1.102 million passenger movements in and out of HK. Outbound movements exceeded 770,000, including more than 685,000 local residents.
Land crossings, including the West Kowloon High-Speed Rail station and Shenzhen Bay, saw heavy congestion, with many residents attributing the surge to rising costs of overseas flights—including elevated ticket prices and continued increases in fuel surcharges—leading them to travel within the Mainland. The Easter holiday also overlaps with Qingming Festival, prompting some residents to return home to pay respects and travel.
Travel industry sources said that amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, high-speed rail tours have been especially popular during the current holiday, with the number of tours up by 30% year-on-year. One travel agency said that yesterday, nearly 60 high-speed rail tour groups departed.
Over 1.10 million cross-boundary trips as of last night
The West Kowloon station's main concourse was crowded. At around 7:30 a.m., queues had already formed at the exit for passengers traveling from MTR Austin Station toward West Kowloon. On the East Rail Line toward Lo Wu, entire trains were full, with most passengers carrying luggage. At Shenzhen Bay, queues toward the Mainland stretched "endlessly," with people forming a long line. At Hong Kong International Airport, check-in counters also saw long lines, with airport staff assisting to manage passenger flow.
Data from ImmD showed that Lo Wu recorded the highest outbound volume, with 153,000 passenger movements. Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point followed with about 134,000, while Shenzhen Bay ranked third with 117,000.
Inside the high-speed rail station, many tour groups gathered at meeting points to prepare for departure. A staff member from a travel agency told reporters that high-speed rail tours had been particularly in demand this holiday period. "Just yesterday, around 60 high-speed rail tour groups departed," the staff member said, adding that each group typically reached a full capacity of about 40 passengers. The destinations included multiple mainland provinces and cities such as Guizhou, Hunan, and Wuhan. The staff said that the station began to see peak departure activity from around 6:00 a.m., with the scene described as being "near total crowding," and more groups would depart throughout the afternoon.
Wuhan cherry blossoms seen as far cheaper than Japan
One resident said that during the holiday period, flight costs were high, including continuously rising fuel surcharges, which discouraged travel overseas. Instead, she chose to join a group tour to Wuhanto to see cherry blossoms. She said that a high-speed rail tour fee costs RMB 700 to 800, while traveling to Japan on a non-budget airline could cost around RMB 8,000 for airfare.
A group of friends led by a local resident known as Lam said they had visited Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan and, during the Easter holiday, continued their trip by enrolling in a six-day Chongqing tour. They planned to first visit downtown Chongqing and then take a cruise to explore the Three Gorges. Lin said, "We've always loved experiencing the great landscapes of the motherland. We'll take this opportunity while we're still healthy."
Mainland travelers chose to travel at off-peak times. A woman identified as Yan from Nanchang, Jiangxi, visited HK for the first time, starting a three- to four-day trip yesterday. She said the visit was partly timed to take advantage of what she described as relatively lower crowds during HK's Easter period, and she also planned to visit attractions including Victoria Harbour, the Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station, and Disneyland, to experience HK's local culture.
High-speed rail tour numbers up 30% year-on-year
Timothy Chui, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, said that due to rising fuel surcharges and the impact of the Middle East conflict, flights on long-haul routes to Europe and the US have been tight and ticket prices remain high. With abundant tourism resources and strong value in the Mainland, some people who had originally planned to travel abroad instead chose high-speed rail trips in the Mainland. He said that the number of high-speed rail tours had increased by 30% compared with last year.
He expected today to be a peak day for mainland visitors coming to HK, adding that many train tickets for mainland-bound travel into HK had already sold out.
Chan Chi-wah, a board director of the Travel Industry Council, said that this year's Easter holiday overlaps with Qingming Festival, boosting outbound travel demand. As a result, some residents shifted to short high-speed rail group trips to the Mainland, he said, adding that high-speed rail fares were not affected by increases in fuel surcharges in the same way as air travel. He expected high-speed rail tours to become a top choice for outbound trips by local residents and said the industry would work to organize more high-speed rail tour groups in the future.
(Source: Ta Kung Pao)
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