Tourist arrivals in October take sharpest plunge since Hong Kong’s anti-government protests began

There were 3.31 million arrivals to the city in October, a decline of 43.7 per cent from the same period last year

The number is also the steepest drop in a single month since the Sars virus plagued the city in May 2003

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Tourists at The Peak, which overlooks the Victoria Harbour and the downtown skyline. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 4:58pm, 29 Nov 2019Updated: 12:09pm, 30 Nov 2019

The slump in tourist arrivals to Hong Kong worsened in October after nearly six months of escalating violence in anti-government protests, closing in on figures not seen since May 2003, when the city was plagued by an outbreak of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars).

According to the latest figures by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, there were 3.31 million arrivals in October this year, a decline of 43.7 per cent from the same month in 2018.

When Sars hit the city 16 years ago, tourist arrivals in the month of May fell more than 60 per cent from the same period the previous year.

The drop in arrivals for October was also the worst decline in a single month since the city’s anti-government protests began about six months ago.

A cleaner seen at Park Lane Shopper's Boulevard in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Nora Tam

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah told the Post that tourist arrivals for the rest of this year “would not be good”.

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