Promoting another side

People kayak near a beachside town in Hong Kong. [Photo by Kang Hui/China Daily]

Commenting on how Hong Kong is seen now, Feng Rao, head of the travel research center of mafengwo.cn says: "Shopping is not the prime aim of Chinese mainland travelers anymore."

Meanwhile, official data shows that in the first half of 2017, about 20.9 million tourists from the mainland visited Hong Kong, accounting for 75 percent of the island's inbound tourism market.

And, mafengwo.cn says that in July and August, the number of those who were interested in traveling to Hong Kong increased by about 65 percent, compared with the same period last year.

In August, the National Tourism Administration and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government signed an agreement to develop tourism products.

Feng says that the mafengwo.cn analysis was based on travel notes and tips from the website's users, and although the keyword for Hong Kong tourism is still "shopping", users are now paying more attention to leisure and entertainment.

He says Cheung Chau, Lamma Island and Shek O are the most popular offshore island destinations in Hong Kong. And that some tourists travel there because they feature in Hong Kong TV series and movies.