Photo: AFCD
During the mainland’s Labour Day holiday, many mainland tourists visited popular attractions in the Sai Kung country park areas. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) reported today (5/5) that from 1-5 May the department handled 19 enforcement cases in Sai Kung East Country Park, including the East Dam and popular campsites, involving littering and illegal camping. Among the popular attractions, Sharp Island received the most verbal warnings, totalling 720. Based on an average of approximately 1,400 visitors per day during the Golden Week holiday, this equates to approximately one verbal warning for every 9.7 people per day.
AFCD posted on social media that, according to the management plan, about 120 personnel were deployed daily to patrol and conduct publicity and education at the popular locations. In particular, the Sai Kung campsite and East Dam area had strengthened facility cleaning and management, and additional personnel were deployed to popular campsites to remind campers of camping etiquette and rules.
The Department stated that the Sai Kung East Dam area experienced extremely high visitor traffic on 1 and 2 May. Temporary crowd control measures were implemented to prevent overcrowding at the Po Pin Chau viewing platform and along the trails. From 1-5 May the Sai Kung East Dam area saw an average of approximately 2,900 visitors per day, with a peak of 5,700 visitors on 1 May. Most tourists also cooperated with the instructions of on-site staff, resulting in good overall order.
AFCD also strengthened the cleaning and management of the Ham Tin Wan, Long Ke Wan, and Sai Wan campsites and increased staff to patrol and guard the three popular campsites day and night. They also using drones and CCTV systems to assist in monitoring the campsites and conducting questionnaires to collect data for more effective resource allocation and visitor management in the future. From 1-5 May the Ham Tin Wan, Long Ke Wan, and Sai Wan campsites averaged approximately 400 tents per night, with a peak of 1,100 tents on 1 May.
The Department reported that during 1-5 May sharp Island averaged approximately 1,400 visitors per day, with a peak of 3,000 visitors on 1 May. They deployed staff to issue warnings to any instances of ecological disturbance and reminded visitors to follow the “Coral-Friendly Route” to avoid accidentally stepping on corals, and to refrain from feeding or collecting marine life. The department also collaborated with the World Wildlife Fund Hong Kong to conduct public education campaigns. During patrols on Sharp Island, AFCD staff issued approximately 720 verbal warnings to visitors.
In addition AFCD, together with the Police Force, Marine Department, and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, conducted joint patrols to maintain order and remind tourists not to litter. On 2 May 20 marine conservation volunteers from Shenzhen and AFCD coastal ambassadors assisted in promoting marine conservation information to tourists on Sharp Island, jointly promoting marine etiquette, and participating in a beach clean-up operation.
To effectively manage crowds at popular tourist destinations, AFCD stated that it will review long-term management strategies based on the experience of this Labour Day Golden Week and previous long holidays, including studying the introduction of a reservation and fee system.
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