The number of leisure visitors remained close to zero.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced that the provisional annual visitor arrivals of 2021 were about 91,000, a 97.4% drop year on year. With anti-epidemic measures involving boundary/border control, a majority of inbound travellers visited Hong Kong for family visits or out of necessity. The number of leisure visitors remained close to zero.
Provisional visitor arrivals in 2021
Market December (year-on-year change) 2021 (January to December)
Mainland 6,475 (+167%) 65,694 (-97.6%)
Non-mainland* 2,973 (+21.7%) 25,704 (-97.0%)
Short-haul 1,373 (+18.5%) 10,629 (-97.0%)
Long-haul 916 (+6.4%) 9,781 (-97.0%)
New markets 232 (-29.9%) 3,380 (-93.8%)
Total 9,448 (+94.1%) 91,398 (-97.4%)
Note: Because of rounding, the total may differ from the sum of the individual figures.
*Includes figures from long-haul, short-haul, and new markets, as well as the Macao SAR. (Full details of December and 2021 annual visitor arrivals will be released on 31 January.)
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.