HONG KONG - The Lo Wu arrival hall on Hong Kong's border used to throng with visitors during mainland China's "Golden Week", but as the five-day tourism bonanza kicked off on Wednesday, the queues there were modest.
Mainland Chinese visitors have historically been the lifeblood of Hong Kong's retail and services sectors, spending on everything from basic goods like baby formula to luxury handbags and upscale restaurants -- helping to shape the city's economy in the process.
But after three years of Covid isolation, and before that a year of sometimes violent pro-democracy protests -- not to mention the growing appeal of fast-developing mainland cities -- Hong Kong has lost its shine for many Chinese tourists and is a long way from regaining its go-to status, observers say.
Local authorities had hoped one million people would cross the border on May 1, the start of the traditional "Golden Week" boom time for Hong Kong's tourism and retail sectors, but the crowds at Lo Wu were moderate on Wednesday.
Hong Kong is desperate to revive its tourism sector -- which at one time made up around five percent of GDP -- to offset the economic toll from the pandemic and political unrest in recent years.
But industry insiders say Hong Kong is still catching up, with visitors spending less during China's economic downturn and local residents preferring to vacation in neighbouring Chinese cities.
"After the pandemic, people's travelling mode and interests have changed, but we are lagging behind in terms of discovering and packaging unique local attractions," the city's tourism sector lawmaker Perry Yiu told AFP.
Emerging from a nearly three-year tourism drought, Hong Kong in 2023 saw 34 million visitors -- a figure buoyed by China's decision to reopen its borders after Covid.
But that number was still far short of the pre-pandemic, pre-protest peak seen in 2018, when Hong Kong received more than 65 million visitors who collectively spent around $35-billion.
Worse still, official figures showed a 73.5 percent drop in spending among daytrippers from mainland China, the largest demographic of visitors to Hong Kong.
The city's US dollar-pegged currency and overall high prices, as well as competition from regional rivals such as Singapore and Japan, have also affected tourist sentiment.
Even among locals, Hong Kong's appeal is dimming.
Since China reopened its border in February 2023, Hong Kongers have flocked to neighbouring mainland cities such as Shenzhen and Zhuhai for weekend outings.