Hong Kong welcomed more than 23.6 million visitors in the first half of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 12 percent. Those figures, from the Hong Kong Tourism Board, show that foreigners made up about 5.84 million of arrivals – an increase of 17 percent, the South China Morning Post reports.
Travellers from short-haul regional destinations like Japan, South Korea and the Philippines experienced a significant surge of “at least” 25 percent, according to a note from the board. “Among long-haul markets, Australia recorded a notable growth of 33 per cent year on year,” it added. Mainlanders made up three-quarters of arrivals, or 17.8 million of the total.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu attributed this year’s rise to a busy calendar of cultural, sports and arts events, as well as the launch of new venues such as Kai Tak Sports Park. “Achieving such remarkable results amid fierce competition with neighbouring regions is no small feat,” he wrote on social media, noting that Hong Kong’s “East-meets-West” appeal continued to draw international attention.
[See more: Tourism is up almost 15 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025]
He said the government would remain responsive to market trends and adopt more “innovative thinking” to make Hong Kong a preferred tourist destination. “We will keep creating tourist attractions and organising mega events, offering different activities every day to attract visitors from around the world to Hong Kong,” he said.
Hong Kong’s tourism industry has not rebounded as quickly as Macao’s, which reached around 95 percent of its pre-pandemic 2019 benchmark across the first six months of the year. According to the Tourism Board’s figures, Hong Kong reached just 68 percent of its 2019 level during the same period.
Macao’s neighbouring SAR welcomed a record 65 million visitors in 2018 and 44.5 million in 2024.
