More than 110,000 tourists from mainland China left Hong Kong on the first day of the “golden week” holiday while about 165,000 crossed the border into the city, with travellers citing soaring hotel prices and the convenience of the high-speed rail link as reasons for making short visits.

The number of overnight stays was also affected as medium- and long-haul passenger flights had not yet reached half of pre-pandemic levels, Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners executive director Caspar Tsui Ying-wai said on Sunday.

He said staff shortages were still hindering the industry’s recovery.