Hong Kong welcomes 21 million tourists in first half of 2024, 64% jump from last year
- But authorities say number of nights visitors spent per trip in Hong Kong dropped to 3.2 on average, down from 4.9 in first quarter of 2023
Twenty-one million visitors came to Hong Kong in the first half of 2024, a 64 per cent increase year on year, but spent fewer nights in the city than in 2023, the latest figures have shown.
The board earlier said it expected that the number of tourists visiting Hong Kong this year would reach 46 million, up by 35 per cent from last year, but still only 70 per cent of the 65 million who visited the city in 2018.
The tourism and hospitality sector was divided on whether the decline in the average length of stay would further affect its survival, but representatives agreed that incentives were needed to convince visitors to the city to stay longer and spend more.
Timothy Chui Ting-pong, the executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, highlighted the number of overnight guests did not decrease, with the overall hotel occupancy rate reaching a high level of 85 per cent.
“It is undeniable that the spending power of overnight guests is very strong,” he said. “Tour groups can bring more overnight guests to Hong Kong. Authorities can do more for the mainland Chinese market.”
