Hong Kong receives influx of inland holidaymakers

From tech-driven interactions to coastal and mountain hiking and in-depth sightseeing, Hong Kong tourism is being revitalized with fresh ideas during the five-day May Day holiday.

The May Day holiday, running from May 1 to 5, is typically one of the busiest travel periods of the year. During this time, millions of Chinese travelers hit the road to visit family, explore domestic destinations, or venture abroad.

The Immigration Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government estimated that about 980,000 mainland tourists will visit Hong Kong during the holiday, a year-on-year increase of around 7 percent.

During the five-day holiday, many shopping malls in Hong Kong offer special promotions. A mall in Sha Tin has transformed its pop-up store into an immersive “coffee farm,” gathering lifestyle goods and creative items in one place, with long queues forming at the entrance. Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay are equally bustling, with jewelry shops and trendy brand stores seeing long lines of customers.

A full slate of concerts and exhibitions displays Hong Kong’s position as a bridge between Eastern and Western cultures.

At the former Yau Ma Tei police station, tourists pose for photos. The ongoing “Yau Ma Tei Police Station: A Cinematic Journey” exhibition allows visitors to step inside the historical building and relive classic scenes from Hong Kong police dramas.

New experiences such as hiking, seaside trips and self-driving tours are rapidly broadening Hong Kong’s tourism appeal. According to industry observers, more people are focusing on Hong Kong’s unique natural scenery and geological features, doubling the scale of eco-tourism from last year.

On the first day of the May Day holiday, direct buses from the Liantang Port/Heung Yuen Wai boundary control point at Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary to the start of Hong Kong’s MacLehose Trail were nearly full. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the HKSAR government reported heavy crowds at the east dam of High Island Reservoir.

The rise of eco-tourism has boosted surrounding businesses. Seafood restaurants near a pier in Sai Kung are packed, and their holiday turnover is expected to rise by 30 percent from normal days.

With Hong Kong’s Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme, self-driving tours from Guangdong have gained popularity. A drive from Guangzhou to downtown Hong Kong now takes only about 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, according to a proposal from a member of the HKSAR Legislative Council, the city is expected to further improve cross-border transport connections, introducing Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area travel passes, and jointly promote tourism with neighboring cities to enhance the overall appeal of regional tourism.

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) exit from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the broader OPEC+ is unlikely to jolt oil markets in the short term, but sets the stage for lower prices once the Iran conflict ends and Gulf exports resume, experts said.

Effective Friday, the UAE formally withdrew from OPEC in a move poised to reshape global oil markets. The decision came amid heightened geopolitical tensions driven by the ongoing Iran conflict.

The UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said the timing was chosen to cause the least market disruption. But analysts say the exit reflects the UAE’s long-simmering frustrations over production quotas that no longer align with its capacity.

“It gives the UAE flexibility to move from a quota within OPEC of 3.3 million barrels a day to 5 million barrels a day in 2027. It won’t radically change the pricing. It will make more energy available. So, it will take some of the price pressures off,” said John Defterios, senior advisor for APCO Worldwide, a global advisory firm, and also senior fellow at the Center for Energy and Materials of the World Economic Forum.

While immediate market impact remains muted amid wartime volatility, experts anticipate meaningful shifts once regional stability returns.

“It has no impact right now, because obviously oil prices right now depend on the state of the war and whether exports can start freely through the Gulf and so on. But assume, once the war is over and a normal transit resumes, I would expect the UAE will move quickly to increase production and try to refill some of that storage that was drained. And that should mean, in general, lower prices for oil importers, for oil consumers. In the longer term, yes, I think also probably it means lower prices,” said Robin Mills, CEO of Qamar Energy, a Dubai-based independent consultancy company.

The UAE’s departure highlights structural tensions within OPEC+. As a low-cost producer with billions invested in upstream expansion, Abu Dhabi increasingly chafed against collective quotas.

However, other members, including Iraq and Kazakhstan, also sought higher production allowances.

“This pressure has been building up for some time. But Saudi Arabia was also in a difficult position. If it agreed to grant higher production levels to the UAE, then it would have to grant them to Iraq as well. Kazakhstan wanted more [allowance as well]. Everybody wants special treatment,” said Mills.

Strategically, the move aligns with the UAE’s broader vision to diversify its economy.

“They made this announcement ahead of a very important forum, Make It In the Emirates, which displays what the UAE is doing in terms of diversification outside of oil and gas. So, they want that revenue from oil and gas — the extra 50 billion dollars a year to go into greater diversification. It’s advanced manufacturing, it’s artificial intelligence, it’s the next wave of financial services, and it is trade,” said Defterios.

The exit also signals a broader recalibration of legacy energy institutions in a world confronting new climate imperatives, geopolitical fragmentation, and energy transition pressures.

“I do think it shows definitely a world in which there’s a new energy reality, there’s a new climate reality, there’s a new geopolitical reality. And these legacy institutions have to adapt. And if they don’t, then of course, their members will either leave or at least won’t take them seriously,” said Mills.