Hong Kong arrivals rise 7% to 8.4 million in first 2 months of 2025
Short-haul markets such as the Philippines and Indonesia record the steepest growth in arrivals
Hong Kong welcomed 8.4 million visitors in the first two months of the year, a 7 per cent increase over the same period in 2024, the Tourism Board said on Friday.
Provisional figures showed that growth momentum among non-mainland Chinese markets prevailed, with the number of arrivals from those destinations surging by 20 per cent. Arrivals from the mainland increased by 4 per cent year on year.
Still, the number of mainland visitors reached 6.5 million, accounting for 77.2 per cent of total arrivals in the first two months, which included the Lunar New Year holiday.
Among non-mainland markets, short-haul ones recorded the steepest growth in arrivals, at 26 per cent, reaching 1.13 million in January and February.
Among long-haul markets, Australia showed a strong boost with a 34 per cent rise in visitors.
Last year, Hong Kong recorded 44.5 million visitors, falling short of earlier forecasts and lagging far below the record high of 65 million in 2018.