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In 2023, Hong Kong recorded 34 million visitors, with Mainland China as the top source. December saw robust arrivals from the Philippines and Thailand, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. MICE travel led the recovery, and overnight stays increased in duration and satisfaction, reflecting successful promotional efforts by the HKTB.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced provisional whole-year visitor arrivals of 34 million in 2023, about four million of whom visited in December.
On a full-year basis, the Mainland remained the largest visitor source market for Hong Kong, with satisfactory visitor arrivals during Labour Day Golden Week, the summer holidays, and National Day Golden Week. On the other hand, the Southeast Asian markets recovered the most quickly. Visitor arrivals from the Philippines and Thailand in December exceeded the pre-epidemic level (average of years 2017 and 2018), reaching 116% and 106% of the pre-epidemic level respectively. By travel purpose, the number of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibitions) travellers recovered to about 70% of that before the pandemic, surpassing the leisure segment and making it the fastest- recovering segment.
Overnight visitors accounted for half the travellers, a higher proportion than before the pandemic. The average length of stay was 3.6 nights, which was also longer than that before the pandemic. According to a survey by the HKTB, overnight visitor satisfaction was 8.7 points out of 10, exceeding pre-pandemic level as well.
Mr Dane Cheng, HKTB Executive Director, said, “In the past year, the HKTB focused on reconnecting with visitors around the world and drive the steady recovery of Hong Kong’s tourism. Through the ‘Hello Hong Kong’ large-scale global promotional campaign, not only did we successfully broadcast Hong Kong’s normalcy and welcome to visitors, but also rolled out various promotions as visitor’s travel behaviour shifted after the pandemic. For instance, we have stepped up promotions on High Speed Rail (HSR) tourism in the HSR markets located within five hours’ ride from Hong Kong. At the same time, we also brought back our series of mega events to strengthen the positive ambience locally and attract visitors to enjoy in person, which enhanced Hong Kong’s tourism appeal and reaffirmed our position as an international travel destination in an all-round approach.”
In the coming year, the HKTB will continue to capitalise on the latest global travel trends and consumer demand, conducting targeted promotions in various visitor source markets to greatly boost travellers’ interest in visiting Hong Kong and make the city a top- of-mind destination. The HKTB will continue to stage mega events and maximise the contribution of the tourism industry to the overall economy, driving the steady recovery of Hong Kong tourism.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
