The week-long National Day holiday of Chinese Mainland is used to be a shining week in Hong Kong as thousands of mainland tourists will bring in flourishing wealth.

However, the "Golden Week" this year is not as golden as it used to be since many people from the mainland, especially tourists from nearby Guangdong Province prefer not to visit Hong Kong during the holiday.

A tour guide from a Guangdong tourism agency said: "They don't want to come during holiday time fearing the higher hotel and ticket prices, especially the crowds of people."

According to statistics from Hong Kong Immigration Department, the number of visitors on the first day of the golden week stood at 280,000, a record low since the start of the "Individual Visiting System" in 2003.

Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee, chairman of Hong Kong Tourism Board, admitted that the "Golden Week" influence to the local market is diminishing because more and more people from the mainland choose ordinary time to visit Hong Kong rather than holiday.

However, she said this does not necessarily mean the positive effect of "Individual Visiting System" on local tourism is reducing, instead it is more balanced throughout the year.

But the market is more or less disappointing since most stores expected a higher revenue during the holiday week.

Causeway Bay, one of the most crowded shopping hubs in Hong Kong, looked even more quiet than common weekends. Some electronic stores said business is slower than the same holiday time last year.

Hong Kong Disneyland may also feel upset since the long-hoping- for crowds of guests did not appear as expected. However, this is good news for guests who choose to visit the park during the holiday because they can enjoy themselves without worrying about the long waiting line.

Some critics said the declining number of tourists reflects problems in Hong Kong tourism industry, such as the lack of attraction of resorts, lack of transparency of prices and poor handling of tourists complaints.

Stephen Ip, secretary for Economic Development and Labor, also admitted the diminishing effect of "Golden Week" when he visited Hong Kong Disneyland during the holiday. But he said the market for individual visit is not saturated and he believed the market can be further enlarged if measures are taken to improve the service of local tourism.

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