Amid the background of China’s economic downturn and downgraded consumption, many mainland Chinese people are choosing to spend holidays in a “poor travel” manner. Hong Kong residents have criticized that during the May 1st holiday, some mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong showed a trend of “poor travel”. Related photos were exposed on social media, sparking local public opinion uproar.
During the May 1st holiday, major famous attractions in Hong Kong welcomed a peak in visitors. Crowds could be seen queuing for photos and enjoying local delicacies at popular spots like Victoria Harbour, Victoria Peak, Kennedy Town, and Yaumatei Police Station. Large numbers of mainland tourists traveled to Hong Kong, with scenes of overcrowding appearing at border crossings.
While mainland visitors boosting the economy is a positive development, some Hong Kong citizens have taken to social media to complain about mainland tourists exhibiting signs of “poor travel” – staying overnight in McDonald’s without booking a hotel room, occupying seats for dining without ordering anything, and refusing to meet minimum spending requirements at restaurants, leading to these incidents trending online.
A netizen on threads shared two photos indicating a large group of mainland tourists using McDonald’s seats to sleep overnight at a McDonald’s in Mong Kok at 6:00 am on May 3rd, with some even sleeping on the floor. The post questioned this “poor travel” practice.
From the photos, it can be seen that a group of travelers with luggage occupied a section of seats at McDonald’s, some had McDonald’s food on their tables, while others only had outside drinks, with a few people lying on the tables to sleep. This undoubtedly caused inconvenience for customers looking to dine in.
According to a report from Macau Monthly’s official Weibo account, during the holidays, mainland tourists flooded into Hong Kong, turning 24-hour McDonald’s in Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui into “temporary habitation spots” for some visitors. A reporter visited a McDonald’s on Nathan Road in the early hours and found around fifty people lying across tables and chairs, piling up luggage, with some even taking off their shoes, creating a messy scene, which the staff did not intervene in.
After the scene spread on social media, public opinion in Hong Kong quickly divided. Some netizens in the comments section expressed that tourists engaging in “poor travel” were damaging the hospitality industry and the economy. Others complained about dining spaces being taken up.
At the same time, some hotel businesses reported that the surge in visitors did not translate into increased revenue, resulting in a phenomenon known as “crowds but not profits” in popular districts like Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui. Among these complaints was a dispute over minimum spending requirements at restaurants caused by mainland tourists.
The owner of an Italian restaurant in Mong Kok took to social media on May 4th, stating that despite the streets being crowded during the May 1st holiday, there was a lack of customers in their store after 6:00 pm on May 3rd, pointing out that “some visitors refusing to spend reasonably to save money led to a decrease in store revenue”. The owner cited a personal experience: on the said evening, he witnessed a family of four from the mainland ordering only two bowls of “single dish noodles” priced at HK$35 each, leading to a heated argument with the staff over not meeting the minimum spending per person of HK$35. The confrontation lasted nearly 20 minutes, and the owner eventually paid and left feeling disturbed.
After the post was published, the related topic on social media surpassed 500,000 reads. Critics believe that the behavior of tourists “disregarding rules” is damaging the service industry in Hong Kong.
A netizen commenting as “Island Observer” mentioned that “before traveling to Hong Kong, visitors should understand local spending habits instead of using ‘poor travel’ as an excuse to break the rules”.
Ms. Lee, who works in the tourism industry, believes that “some visitors excessively pursue low prices, even demanding free services from businesses, which will degrade the quality of tourism services in Hong Kong in the long term”.
However, some internet users pointed out that businesses should rethink the rationale behind minimum spending requirements, with Mr. Zhang, a mainland tourist, stating, “average spending in Hong Kong restaurants is generally higher, so mandatory minimum spending is unfair to family travelers or those with limited budgets”.
Regarding the investigation into mainland tourists staying overnight in McDonald’s instead of hotels, it was found that some did so due to tight schedules, unforeseen circumstances like lost documents, rather than solely choosing to take advantage of the situation.
In the past three years, the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Chinese Communist Party’s extreme control policies have devastated the Chinese economy. In recent years, Chinese people have experienced a downgrade in consumption due to the economic downturn. “Poor travel” is a manifestation of this trend in the field of tourism. During holidays, many popular tourist destinations have seen a rise in what is dubbed “special forces-style tourism”, with the “special forces” mainly composed of university students. This year’s May Day holiday saw an increase in tourists opting for self-camping, referred to as the “field army” by netizens. They do not book hotels or stay in guesthouses but bring their tents and camping gear to set up camp in scenic areas, highlighting their focus on cost-saving during travels.