Hong Kong’s countryside has seen an influx of tourists with the start of the Labour Day Golden Week in mainland China, recording over 600,000 arrivals in the first two days of the five-day-long holiday.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said on Saturday that ecological hotspots were crowded on Friday, the first day of the Labour Day holiday.

High-traffic areas included High Island Reservoir East Dam, Sharp Island, Shui Hau on Lantau, and various Sai Kung East Country Park campsites, the AFCD wrote in a Facebook post.

Over 1,000 camping tents were spotted in the three campsites at Ham Tin Wan, Sai Wan, and Long Ke Wan in Sai Kung East Country Park on Friday evening, the AFCD said, adding that good order and hygiene were maintained at the sites.

High Island Reservoir East Dam, a popular scenic spot in Sai Kung East Country Park, saw 5,700 visitors on Friday, according to the authority.

The department imposed crowd control measures from 11am to 3pm at the Po Pin Chau viewing platform.

In Sai Kung’s Sharp Island, the number of visitors exceeded expectations, the AFCD said, with around 3,000 arrivals on the first day of Golden Week.

The AFCD conducted joint patrols with the police, the Marine Department, and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, issuing around 300 verbal warnings on Friday.

Separately, Shui Hau on Lantau saw around 1,000 arrivals on Friday.

The AFCD announced earlier that it would step up measures at ecological hotspots during the Labour Day Golden Week, deploying drones and additional staff to patrol hotspots as well as conduct public education.

The government has faced criticism over its management of ecological hotspots, especially after concerns of overtourism and damage to the environment came to light during last year’s Golden Week holiday.

Greenpeace said ahead of this Golden Week that AFCD’s new measures were advisory in nature and lacked deterrence.

The international environmental protection NGO said on Facebook on Saturday that it visited Sai Kung’s Sharp Island on Friday and found many visitors had dug up marine life such as clams and sea urchin.

Around 22 people were seen foraging at 4pm on Friday in Hap Mun Bay, a beach located in the southern part of Sharp Island, according to the NGO.

However, there were no government officers on site to stop the visitors, Greenpeace said.

Rising number of tourists

Hong Kong’s finance minister Paul Chan said in his blog on Sunday that the city recorded a total of 602,000 tourists through various checkpoints on Friday and Saturday, the first two days of Golden Week.

The number marked a 6 per cent increase compared to last year, Chan said.

“As the Golden Week holiday enters its third day, Hong Kong remains vibrant with a positive business outlook,” Paul said in the Chinese-language blog. “Many retailers and restaurants expect to see solid business performance throughout this Golden Week period.”

The official said visitor arrivals in the first quarter of 2026 grew by 17 per cent compared to the same period last year, with over 14.3 million arrivals.

The figure still falls short of 2019 levels. In the first quarter of 2019, Hong Kong recorded over 18.2 million of arrivals, according to the Tourism Board.