About 20 people recently camped outside Hong Kong’s Star Ferry Pier hoping to get their hands on the limited edition toys, despite false claims that the group were mainland Chinese tourists who didn’t want to pay for hotels.
The misunderstanding arose from a Facebook post on Saturday which claimed the iconic pier had become a sleeping spot for mainland Chinese. Images circulating online showed people lying on cardboard mats with their belongings outside the closed pier.
A Post reporter visited the Tsim Sha Tsui pier and the nearby Hong Kong Cultural Centre that night but found no signs of anyone camping at either location.
A Star Ferry employee said the earlier campers were waiting to buy limited edition toys.
PopMart Hong Kong began selling the limited edition CRYBABY doll, which comes with a lamp and blind box, on May 31. The store is located at LCX in Harbour City, a bustling shopping centre right next to the pier.
Some local media had earlier claimed the group were tourists from mainland China, with a newsstand owner quoted as saying he had seen people camping at the site in recent days and leaving every morning.
The seller speculated that the group were probably tourists from mainland China hoping to use vouchers and take advantage of various discounts.
Facebook users responded to the post, claiming the passengers were having a “new travel experience” and that “hotel stays may no longer be necessary when travelling to Hong Kong”.
The social media user behind the Facebook image is yet to update the post.
The Tsim Sha Tsui port district, which spans Star Ferry Pier and Star Avenue, is one of the most popular travel destinations on mainland China’s Instagram-like social media platform Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book in English).
Saturday’s Facebook post brought back the theme of changing tourism trends, with many mainland Chinese tourists opting to shorten their trips in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and prioritizing experiences over shopping.
According to statistics from the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the average spend per overnight tourist in Hong Kong in 2019 was HK$5,818 (US$744), while for day tourists it was HK$2,004.
In 2023, per capita spending by overnight visitors is expected to increase by 18.6% to HK$6,900, while spending by day trippers is expected to fall by 35.1% to HK$1,300.
