20% tourist spike in May as more than 4 million visit Hong Kong

Hong Kong welcomed over 4 million visitors in May, a 20 per cent year-on-year increase, with an industry leader urging authorities to relax entry rules for Vietnamese and Indian tourists to attract more people from new markets. More than 3.1 million of last month’s visitors were from mainland China, a 19 per cent rise from last year, according to provisional figures released by the Tourism Board on Monday. The number of non-mainland tourists also increased by 24 per cent from May last year to 955,345. Of these, 56.2 per cent were short-haul visitors. Five new markets – Gulf Cooperation Council countries, India, Vietnam, Russia and the Netherlands – averaged 21 per cent year-on-year growth, to 74,746 arrivals, in May. The board said that last month’s increase was due to the Labour Day “golden week” holiday, which ran from May 1 to 5 on the mainland, alongside a range of citywide activities including large-scale concerts, meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibition events. More than 20 million visitors arrived in Hong Kong between January and May, a 12 per cent year-on-year increase. While mainland arrivals accounted for most of the tourists, recording 10 per cent growth from January to May, visitor numbers from other locations expanded by 18 per cent. “Visitor arrivals from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines increased by more than 25 per cent year on year,” the board said. “Notably, the number of visitors from Australia has increased by more than 35 per cent from the same period of 2024.” Officials previously said that 1.1 million people visited Hong Kong during the five-day Labour Day break, a 22 per cent rise from last year, which exceeded the initial estimate of a 10 per cent increase. Calculations by the Post indicate that the city recorded 919,639 arrivals from the mainland over the holiday, compared with 759,373 during the same period in 2024, an increase of 21 per cent. The city also welcomed 180,087 visitors from other locations, a 34 per cent year-on-year increase compared with 134,391 in 2024. To further boost new markets, Travel Industry Council executive director Fanny Yeung Shuk-fun urged the government to relax entry requirements for visitors from India and Vietnam. “We think that if the visa arrangements can be improved, Hong Kong will be more attractive [to tourists from those two countries],” Yeung said. Currently, Indian tourists are required to complete pre-arrival registration to enjoy a 14-day visa-free stay in the city. Vietnamese visitors need a visa. Hong Kong Tourism Association executive director Timothy Chui Ting-pong said he believed the growth in Vietnamese tourist numbers was related to cheaper flights, which was the result of an increase in the number of Hongkongers visiting the country. “There are many flights from Hong Kong to Vietnam … so with the increased supply of flights, the tickets become cheaper,” Chui said. According to the board, tourists from the Middle East, Vietnam and India spent the most in Hong Kong last year. Among the top 20 markets including the mainland, tourists from the Middle East had the highest per capita overnight spending at HK$10,200, almost double the average of HK$5,500. Visitors from Vietnam spent HK$8,900 and those from India HK$8,500. The figure for mainland visitors was HK$5,000. For the Middle Eastern market, both Yeung and Chui noted that the government had put efforts into making Hong Kong a Muslim-friendly city. Hong Kong was named the third most Muslim-friendly travel destination globally among non-Islamic economies, the Tourism Board said last Friday. It said the city had moved up one place to third in the Mastercard-CrescentRating 2025 Global Muslim Travel Index for destinations outside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation bloc. Hong Kong was also named “Most Promising Muslim-friendly Destination of the Year” by the firm. In last year’s policy address, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu called on the tourism sector to attract more tourists from the Middle East. The Tourism Board has promoted Halal certification to restaurants and also led industry representatives to the Arabian Travel Market, an industry fair in Dubai. Hong Kong welcomed about 26,000 tourists from the Middle East in the first quarter this year, accounting for only 1 per cent of all visitors. Tourism Board chairman Peter Lam Kin-ngok earlier said that the organisation would ramp up efforts to encourage family and business visitors to extend their stay in the city by promoting diverse travel experiences. He said one big challenge was how to ensure visitors remained longer in Hong Kong, adding that currently tourists stayed for an average of 3.2 nights.

20% tourist spike in May as more than 4 million visit Hong Kong

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Five new markets record year-on-year growth of 21 per cent on average in May

Five new markets record year-on-year growth of 21 per cent on average in May