Organisers opted to go ahead with the event on Wednesday night, despite earlier concerns about the rainy weather.
Hong Kong Tourism Association executive director Timothy Chui Ting-pong told a radio programme on Thursday that the number of incoming mainland tourists recorded on Labour Day was quite satisfactory, but said some were left disappointed over the pyrotechnics.
Some users on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu complained that they could only see thick clouds of smoke during the event, with one saying they felt “scammed”.
One user said many tourists who watched the show from spots in Central and Admiralty had complained about the quality of the display.
“It was really below our expectations, we could only watch it for the first 10 seconds, the rest was just smoke. I wouldn’t watch if I knew,” a user called Vicky wrote after setting up early outside the K11 Musea mall in Tsim Sha Tsui at 5pm to get a good view.