The tourism sector in Hong Kong is upbeat over their business prospects during the Labour Day' golden week' holiday in China.

Indeed, a representative from the sector forecasts a 30% rise in the number of tourists from across the border compared to the year before.

The prediction was issued a few hours following Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu's commitment on Tuesday to attract additional tourists during the upcoming five-day holiday beginning on 1st May, aiming to show Hong Kong as a "city of hospitality."

Tourism legislator Perry Yiu Pak-leung expressed the industry's anticipation for a potential 30% year-on-year increase in tourist numbers.

During the same holiday last year, Hong Kong welcomed 723,587 visitors, of which 86% or 625,538 were from the mainland, South China Morning Post reports.

According to Yiu, the tourism sector has made "sufficient preparations" drawing from past holiday experiences, such as the Lunar New Year in February and National Day in October last year.

"I think the key is to find ways to present old offerings in new or refreshing and innovative ways, which the industry has been working on for a while now. We understand visitors are looking for more cultural experiences, so we have been promoting in-depth tours that introduce the city's history, as well as green tours that show our natural landscape," he said.

Furthermore, director of CTS HK Metropark Hotels Management, Jack Cheung Ki-tang said room bookings for the holiday period have hit around 50% of capacity and he was "optimistic" business would be strong this year.

"Around this time last year, the occupancy rate for the golden week was around 40%, so there is definitely some improvement," he said.

Last month, the Tourism Board reported that the city welcomed 3.4 million visitors, marking a 38.6% surge compared to the previous year. Over 70% of these visitors, totalling 2.47 million, originated from the mainland.