Zhitong Finance learned that Huang Weilun, the Deputy Secretary of the Hong Kong Treasury, said that he had noticed a steady increase in the number of visitors to Hong Kong, with over 4 million in February, an increase from January. If the trend continues, he estimates that the number of visitors to Hong Kong this year is expected to reach 50 million, and he believes that Hong Kong still has a strong appeal as a tourist city. He is also very optimistic about the prospects of Hong Kong's tourism industry this year and believes that Hong Kong needs to prepare for personnel and flight adjustments.

Regarding the series of activities and events held by Hong Kong during the "Art March", Huang Weilun believes that various recent activities are expected to attract over 4 million visitors, including Hong Kong citizens and visitors to Hong Kong. He cited economic advisers' assessments that profits from every 1.5 million visitors to Hong Kong account for one thousandth of Hong Kong's GDP, equivalent to HKD 3 billion in economic benefits.

In addition, Huang Weilun mentioned that the authorities have launched an imported labor plan to cope with the shortage of reception personnel in the industry. The Hong Kong Tourism Board is also promoting the "Quality Tourism Service" program to encourage the industry to improve its service quality. At the same time, the authorities will closely monitor the flight capacity of airlines, as the recovery of manpower and capacity in the aviation industry takes time. With the introduction of the third runway, they believe that there will be a positive impact on the recovery of the tourism industry.

On the other hand, last year there were 34 million visitors to Hong Kong, which has recovered to 52% of the level in 2018. According to the "Analysis Report on Hong Kong Visitors in 2023", overnight visitors accounted for 50% of the total visitors last year, which is higher than 45% in 2018, and the average length of stay was 3.6 days, longer than 3.1 days in 2018; The average consumption per overnight visitor was HKD 6900, higher than HKD 6600 in 2018, and shopping accounted for about 46% of the total consumption of visitors last year, while shopping accounted for about 51% in 2018.

Regarding mainland visitors, there were 26.76 million mainland visitors last year, accounting for 78% of the total visitors to Hong Kong. About 46% of mainland visitors stayed overnight, which is higher than 39% in 2018, and the length of stay for overnight visitors was 3.5 days, which is longer than 3 days in 2018. However, their average consumption was HKD 6500, lower than HKD 7000 in 2018.

For short-distance visitors, Filipino visitors resumed their visits most quickly, with 760,000 visitors last year, which is 85% of the level in 2018. However, the recovery rates for South Korean visitors and Japanese visitors to Hong Kong are slower. The recovery rate for long-distance visitors is also slow, with 590,000 American visitors last year, which is 46% of the level in 2018.