Mainland Chinese tourists choose cheap Hong Kong eats touted online for ‘golden week’ trips

Mainland tourists still committed to experiences popularised on social media, as catering industry leader predicts 10 per cent business rise

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Mainland tourists spend the National Day ‘golden week’ break taking pictures of Hong Kong’s skyline. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 3:52pm, 2 Oct 2024Updated: 9:57pm, 2 Oct 2024

Mainland Chinese tourists have been seeking out authentic, affordable Hong Kong food and faithfully following social media tips during the National Day “golden week” holiday, while a catering industry leader has forecast a 10 per cent increase in business.

“The milk tea here is not bad, a bit watered down though,” 43-year-old Guangdong visitor Vivian Huang told the Post, while taking a photo of the drink she had just bought on Gage Street.

The drink from Lan Fong Yuen, a cafe which has long claimed to be the inventor of local-style milk tea, has frequently appeared on mainland China’s Instagram-like social media platform Xiaohongshu.

The mother of two shared her thoughts on Wednesday, the third day of her visit to the city with her husband and their two children, aged eight and 12.

The family, who are in Hong Kong for four days, are travelling on a budget of about HK$35,000 (US$4,500), with HK$15,000 going towards three nights of luxury hotel accommodation in Kowloon.

She said the family had considered travelling overseas during the break, which runs from October 1 to 7 on the mainland this year, but were unsure whether Huang’s husband could step away from work so they opted for a last-minute trip to Hong Kong.