Golden Week tourists flock to HK to browse gold

On the third day of the National Day Golden Week, Hong Kong continues to receive mainland tourists.

This as some holidaymakers say the recent rebound in the renminbi exchange rate has boosted their willingness to spend more.

Shop till you drop.

That's the sentiment among some holidaymakers from up north in this holiday season in Causeway Bay.

Shops peddling beauty products -- or bags have wooed crowds.

This tourist from Hangzhou says he is spending 20 to 30,000 dollars on bags and accessories.

This tourist from Beijing says her budget is under 5,000 dollars, noting how the yuan's exchange rate has encouraged her to spend more.

Every 100 yuan could get you 117 Hong Kong dollars, up about 7% from 109 Hong Kong dollars in the same period last year buoyed by the rebound of renminbi's exchange rate.

Meanwhile, the Golden Week holiday has also attracted more overnight travellers with the retail industry expecting double-digit growth in sales of jewellery, drugstore products and dried seafood.

Liberal Party's retail sector lawmaker Peter Shiu says owing to the tense Sino-Japanese relations now, more mainland tourists opted for Hong Kong instead of Japan, noting the surge in dried seafood sales over the past two days has been more marked than last year.

Gold shops become another "battleground" where wallets "thinned".

This tourist aims to snap up some wedding gold items, noting how Hong Kong shops offered better value for money.

However, the rise in the RMB exchange rate has not outpaced the fluctuations in gold prices.

A gold shop representative says footfall to their store in this year's Golden Week fares better than in previous years but revenue only rose by a modest 2%.

The Immigration Department says during the first two days of Golden Week, about 511,000 mainland tourists reached Hong Kong, marking an increase of over 12% year-on-year.