More than 1.4 million mainland Chinese passenger trips were made to Hong Kong during the country’s National Day “golden week” holiday, official data has shown, but a sector representative said tourists’ spending power remained weak despite the increased numbers.

According to the latest figures from the Immigration Department, the number of inbound trips made by mainland visitors during the eight-day break, which coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, marked a 15 per cent increase from the seven-day National Day holiday last year.

About 1.29 million mainland visitors came to Hong Kong in the first seven days of the holiday this year, 6.4 per cent more than last year.

Annie Tse Yau On-yee, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, on Thursday described the retail sector’s performance as “stable” during the eight-day holiday this year, thanks to local and tourist consumption.

“We have contributions from tourists, but the local market also has a fair contribution too. Many of our members say the local market provided the most help to their businesses,” she told a radio show.

“But there isn’t a huge improvement in tourists’ spending power. They come to Hong Kong for in-depth visits and probably do some shopping on the side.