Photo taken on Jan 21, 2015 shows a commercial street in Hong Kong, a city which has attracted many tourists from the Chinese mainland for its shopping opportunities. [Photo/IC]

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying expressed his concern over the 45 percent slump in the number of the mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong in March compared with last year, which industry insiders said is the result of the continuous protests against parallel traders, who smuggle goods from Hong Kong to the mainland, and harassment towards mainland tourists, Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

The protests against parallel traders in recent months have deterred mainland tourists, with the total number down 13 percent year on year in the past three weeks, with individual visitors down 19 percent, said Gregory So Kam-leung, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of Hong Kong, at a Legislative Council meeting on Thursday.

The situation is more alarming for the number of tour groups from the mainland. Only 274 tour groups from the mainland have been registered on average every day between March 1 and 22, a sharp decline of 45 percent from the daily average of 502 a year ago.

"Tourism is an important industry for Hong Kong and it contributes 4.7 percent of its GDP," CY Leung said at the Legislative Council meeting.

He added that if tourism withers, a large number of grassroots workers will lose their jobs.

A recent Reuters report also pointed out that an increasing number of mainland tourists are choosing not to go to Hong Kong, leaving retailers who built businesses around once insatiable demand from mainland customers with bigger but emptier stores and squeezing the whole city's visitor-dependent economy.

"During the Spring Festival, the number of mainland tourists to Hong Kong decreased while those to Macao increased," said CY Leung.

He said the phenomenon deserves reflection from Hong Kongers. If it becomes a trend, the future of Hong Kong's tourism, retail and transportation industry will be worrisome.

Leung said that the SAR government will find a balance between tourism development and its capacity to handle the tourists.

He said it is completely unacceptable for some individuals to loot shops, harass tourists or citizens. He added that these actions break the law and harm Hong Kong's international image. "Hong Kong always welcomes tourists from the mainland and other parts of the world," he said.

He said the Hong Kong government will continue to crack down on goods smuggling between Hong Kong and mainland, which troubles locals by occupying roads and other public places.

The total sales value of the retail industry also declined 14.6 percent in January year on year.

According to Reuters, Chinese mainland visitors numbered 47 million last year, and accounted for about a third of Hong Kong's retail spending.