Luo Shupei: Last year's visitors to Hong Kong increased by 12% year-on-year, with exhibition visitors contributing HKD 10.7 billion in consumption

The Director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Luo Shupei, stated in a written response to lawmakers' questions that Hong Kong recorded a total of 49.9 million visitors last year, exceeding initial estimates and representing a 12% increase compared to the 44.5 million visitors projected for 2024. Among these, approximately 37.8 million were visitors from mainland China, an annual increase of about 11%. Non-mainland visitors totaled around 12.1 million, reflecting a 15% year-on-year growth.

When asked how Hong Kong could seize the opportunities presented by transfer passengers, Luo Shupei pointed out that the government expanded the exemption from the departure tax for passengers starting in October last year to attract more passengers to transfer in Hong Kong. Additionally, Hong Kong International Airport launched a free local tour service specifically for transfer passengers in September last year, allowing those with longer layover times to leave the airport and explore various places in Hong Kong. Furthermore, in November last year, the central government included four ports connecting to Hong Kong in the 240-hour visa-free transit policy for foreigners, which helps attract more overseas travelers to enter Hong Kong before proceeding to the mainland.

Luo Shupei also mentioned that last year, a total of 2.51 million exhibition visitors came to Hong Kong, an increase of 7% year-on-year. Among them, 1.43 million were overnight visitors, contributing approximately HKD 10.7 billion in total consumption. Specifically, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and AsiaWorld-Expo hosted over 360 exhibition events last year.

To further promote the development of the exhibition industry and major events economy, thereby creating overall economic benefits for Hong Kong, the government allocated HKD 500 million to launch the "Regular Exhibition Incentive Scheme 2.0" in July last year, supporting the establishment of new and regular large-scale international exhibitions. In addition, the government will continue to advance plans to expand large exhibition facilities, providing additional space for more exhibition activities to be held in Hong Kong. The expansion project of AsiaWorld-Expo has already commenced, with completion expected in 2028