Hong Kong’s deputy financial secretary said a series of mega events that began earlier this month could bring a total of 4 million foreign and domestic visitors, while the number of visitors this year is expected to increase by nearly 50 percent from 2023 .
The city is expected to welcome about 50 million tourists in 2024, a significant increase from the 34 million who came to the city last year, Deputy Finance Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun told a radio program on Saturday.
The forecast takes into account the government’s Art March campaign, which includes Art Basel, Art Central, the International Cultural Summit in the West Kowloon Cultural District and the hundreds of illuminated egg-shaped objects due to light up Victoria Harbor later in the month.
The campaign was expected to attract 4 million visitors, including tourists and locals, Wong said.
He added that government economists estimated that each group of 1.5 million tourists would contribute HK$3 billion (US$383.5 million) to Hong Kong’s gross domestic product.
Authorities also planned to share more timely details of the city’s mega events calendar to ensure the commercial sector received advance notice of potential business opportunities, he said.
“As they need to know the schedule of the mega events to grab the opportunities…we hope our early release of the calendar can help their arrangements,” he added.
Wong said the government has already planned 80 events for the first half of this year, with more than 70 in the pipeline for the second half.
Wong’s annual visitor forecast for this year also exceeded the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s earlier estimate of 46 million. But the deputy finance secretary said he was unsure when the city could reach 2018 levels of 65 million people.
Figures from the Tourism Board show 4 million tourists visited the city last month, almost double the amount recorded for the same period in 2023.
As for mega events, Wong said on Saturday that some mainland Chinese travel agencies are organizing tours for the latest exhibition in Hong Kong, which displays statues of characters from the works of famous wuxia writer Louis Cha Leung-yung, also known as Jin Yong.
The statues are on display in Edinburgh Place at the Central and Heritage Museum in Sha Tin.
“As a government, we are not narrowly focused on economic contribution [brought by the mega events]. We hope they can make life in the city fun and clarify Hong Kong’s position as an international city and bring happiness to all walks of life,” he said.
Other events taking place during the Art March include hundreds of illuminated egg-shaped objects that will dot Victoria Harbour.
Hong Kong sneaks in with ‘Art March’ as colorful ‘eggs’ will light up the harbor
Hong Kong sneaks in with ‘Art March’ as colorful ‘eggs’ will light up the harbor
The installation is among five appearing on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, which authorities say will attract more than 2 million visitors between March 25 and June 2.
The total cost of the installations is expected to reach about HK$50 million, the government said.
Wong also defended the authorities’ decision not to charge people visiting the installations after some lawmakers questioned why the government was not taking advantage of the opportunity to increase its revenue.
The Hong Kong Art Walk aims to inject some color into the local economy
The Hong Kong Art Walk aims to inject some color into the local economy
The finance official said the government opted for a free entry policy because they wanted attendees to “have fun” at the events.
Appearing on the same radio programme, Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Jo Wong Chee-cho said the government wanted revelers to simply appreciate the installations and they would “enhance the mood”.
“We still have some activities that are charged, such as business fairs … we have to consider the different functions of different activities,” he said.
