Chinese online travel platform, Trip.com, shared its latest data on tourism in Macao and Hong Kong at a media event that was held at the Londoner on Friday.
The gathering saw Trip.com representatives share information that the firm had gathered via its AI-driven platform, Trip.Best, which collects and assesses data based on metrics such as user ratings, reviews and bookings.
In relation to outbound travel, Trip.com found that the most popular destination among Hong Kong and Macao users in 2025 was Shenzhen, followed by Zhuhai and Guangzhou, which saw their click rates grow year-on-year by 45 percent, 49 percent and 42 percent respectively.
Other locations in the top ten included Taipei, Bangkok, Shanghai,Osaka, Seoul, Tokyo and Zhongshan.
Eddy Yip, the company’s territory manager in Hong Kong, and product and marketing director for Hong Kong and Taiwan, noted that a number of new trending locations among Hong Kong and Macao users included Phu Kuoc, Fukuoka, Yilan and Chongqing.
[See more: Who are Macao’s three-peaters, and what do they mean for future tourism initiatives?]
In terms of the top hotels in Macao, Fian Leung, the head of accommodation in Hong Kong and Macao, noted that four star hotels, luxury hotels and ultra luxury hotels received the most number of clicks among global users, increasing by 38 percent year-on-year.
Leung mentioned that when searching for hotel rooms, a significant 9.54 percent of Hong Kong and Macao users searched for hotel rooms suitable for parents and children, a trend that contrasts with users from other locations such as the US and Japan, whose trending searches were Instagrammable hotels (9.14 percent) and those with hot springs (8.06 percent) respectively.
According to Nelson Lee, Trip.com’s head of tourism business in Hong Kong and Macao, Macao and Hong Kong visitors preferred visiting “coolcation” destinations. Tourists from the two SARs were inclined to choose cultural experiences such as donning a kimono in Kyoto or wearing hanbok in Seoul, with searches for such products increasing by 48 percent year-on-year.
Digital art museums such as TeamLab were also growing in popularity, as searches for these destinations jumped by 32 percent among SAR users. Similarly, locations relating to K-pop and franchises such as Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings have also seen a surge in searches, rising by 56 percent year-on-year.
When it comes to food, Sunny Sun, the vice president of Trip.com and the CEO of Trip.Gourmet, noted that Macao, Hong Kong, Japanese and Taiwanese users preferred to explore local snack products.
“They not only want to eat authentic delicacies, but they also want to talk to the owner about their life in the local area,” Sun said.
The vice president added that the click rates among Macao and Hong Kong users for luxury dining venues and establishments with scenic locations hit 40.2 percent and 39.5 percent, reflecting these residents’ specific requirements when it comes to fine food and a good dining environment.
As part of the event, an award ceremony was also held, with Trip.com recognising excellence in cuisine. These included the winners of the top platinum awards: Brasserie 1893 (Beijing), Fu Chun Ju (Beijing), Furong (Beijing), GYJ Macau Hotpot (Beijing), King’s Joy (Beijing), La Chansonnière (Beijing), Les Morilles (Beijing), Redwall 1939 (Beijing), Shen Yong Xing Roast Duck Restaurant (Beijing), Zijin Mansion (Beijing), Chengdu restaurant (Chengdu), and Fu Man Lou (Chengdu).
Meanwhile, the travel platform also unveiled two new rankings on Trip.Best restaurants – hometown cuisines and a must-visit restaurants list. A new brand campaign known as Trip.Gourmet: The Chef’s Table, which involves renowned chefs showcasing their city’s culinary tradition to a small group of visitors, was also announced.
Trip.com also made mention of the Taste of China, a restaurant that it currently operates in Shanghai. Blending fine dining with audio-visual elements, the establishment offers guests a seven-course meal, which represents various Chinese regions, including the Greater Bay Area.
The Trip.Gourmet’s annual global restaurant rankings and fine dining award ceremony was attended by a number of guests, including the head of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; the senior vice president of food and beverage operations at Sands China, Tom Connolly, as well as the CMO and executive vice president of Trip.com, Bo Sun.
