Hong Kong’s tourism numbers to return to pre-Covid levels by end of 2025, trailing Macau and other Greater Bay Area cities, new platform forecasts

Polytechnic University has developed a ‘GBA Tourism Forecasting Platform’, a data analysis system for the Greater Bay Area

Accurate forecasts of tourism demand are crucial for policymakers and practitioners to be able to develop sustainable strategies, academic says

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Visitors enjoy the sights at the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 9:58pm, 25 Jan 2024Updated: 2:19am, 26 Jan 2024

Hong Kong’s tourism numbers are projected to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2025, a year later than in neighbouring Macau, according to a new forecasting platform developed by a local university.

The program also found that visitors to the city in December most enjoyed the culture and landscape but were unsatisfied with the food and climate.

Polytechnic University on Thursday unveiled its new “GBA Tourism Forecasting Platform”, a data analysis system for the Greater Bay Area. The bay area refers to the central government’s ambitious scheme to link Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province into an integrated economic and business powerhouse.

The hotel and tourism management school developed the platform, which is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and econometric models.

Tourists visit the Ruins of St Paul’s in Macau. Photo: Xinhua

“The GBA is aiming to become a world leader, a leading [tourist] destination by 2035. However, there are still challenges facing the GBA after the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Haiyan Song, associate dean and chair professor of the school.

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