Hong Kong overhauls image to attract visitors
Measures adopted by the Asian financial hub include revamping its dated taxi fleet and improving digital payment systems. — Bloomberg
HONG KONG: Hong Kong's efforts to overhaul an image dented by years of turbulence and re-establish itself as an Asian events hub are starting to lure more international visitors beyond mainland China, the city's tourism chief says.
Measures adopted by the Asian financial hub include revamping its dated taxi fleet and improving digital payment systems, Rosanna Law, Hong Kong's Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, told Bloomberg TV in an interview.
The city is also doubling down on hosting major events to lure back the jet set, with a recent concert by British band Coldplay and a move by its annual Rugby Sevens tournament to a flashy new waterfront stadium.
'We need to rack our brains to find new attraction points so that people are willing to spend or find new reasons for people to stay that much longer,' said Law, who was appointed to the role in December.
Visitor arrivals in the first quarter grew 9% from the same period in 2024, to 12 million, while the number of non-mainland visitors surged by 18%, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
It was the biggest on-year quarterly growth in tourists since travel resumed in Hong Kong after the pandemic.
Hong Kong's image as a tourist-friendly destination has suffered from years of turmoil, including pro-democracy protests, strict Covid-19 measures and Beijing's clampdown on freedoms in the special administrative region. Its tourism industry is still struggling to fully rebound six years after Covid-19, making it one of the last markets in Asia to recover.
Last year it welcomed nearly 45 million tourists, a 31% jump from 2023, though just short of the tourism board's target of 46 million – and far off the record 65 million arrivals in 2018, the pre-pandemic year.
The agency forecasts a 10% increase in visitors in 2025, to about 49 million, still below levels seen before Covid-19.
Hong Kong relies heavily on China for tourism: Chinese still comprise the bulk of arrivals, making up about 76% of visitors last year. — Bloomberg
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