Editorial | Still some way to go as Hong Kong tourism recovers
- Hong Kong visitor numbers may be up, but they are well below pre-pandemic levels with arrivals also spending fewer days in the city
Hong Kong is steadily recovering from the darkest days of the coronavirus pandemic when tourism virtually dried up. The difference is palpable these days as visitors from the mainland and the rest of the world throng the popular attractions on any given holiday or weekend and in between.
While arrivals have yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels, there is a welcome trend in the right direction.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board said 21 million tourists came in the first half of 2024, a surge of 64 per cent over the same period the previous year, when the city had just shed its pandemic controls and the mainland was dropping its last barriers to travel.
Overseas visitors surged 80 per cent to about 5 million in the first half of 2024, with roughly half of them staying overnight, in line with the previous year. Overnight visitors listed Tsim Sha Tsui, the Temple Street and Ladies’ markets in Mong Kok, The Peak and Disneyland among the most popular attractions.
Most surveyed would recommend the city to others, the tourism board said.
