​Following is a question by the Hon Chan Chun-ying and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (February 4):

Question:

     There are views pointing out that visitor spending is crucial to the development of local retail economy. Regarding attracting visitors to spend in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) given that the Mainland has earlier on further relaxed the entry conditions for visitors from abroad and policies to facilitate visitor spending (including extending the "refund-upon-purchase" services for visitors from abroad to the whole country), significantly enhancing its international tourism appeal, and as there are views that Hong Kong serves as the premier "transit point" for many visitors entering the Mainland, how the authorities will seize this opportunity to promote visitors transiting via Hong Kong to allocate more time for spending in Hong Kong;

(2) as there are views that the Art Basel Hong Kong held in Hong Kong last year and the film "Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In" were acclaimed by audiences, fully showcasing Hong Kong's rich cultural, historical and artistic resources, whether the authorities will further explore such resources to extend visitors' stay in Hong Kong and increase their incentive to spend; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) as there are views pointing out that high-level forums and international exhibitions generally attract business visitors with higher per capita spending levels, making significant contributions to the economy, of the measures to be adopted by the authorities to further attract such activities to be held in Hong Kong; whether it has plans to integrate various types of mega events or activities to promote spending by business visitors?

Reply:

President,

     Tourism is one of the important pillars of Hong Kong's economy, driving the development of retail, catering and hotel industries. The Government has been actively seizing the opportunity to promote the in-depth integration of culture, sports and tourism, and is committed to providing visitors with enjoyable travel experiences, enhancing Hong Kong's overall attractiveness, and injecting impetus into the local economy.

     The tourism industry performed very well in 2025. In 2025, there were 49.9 million visitor arrivals, exceeding the estimate made early in the year and marking a 12 per cent growth compared with the whole-year total of 44.5 million in 2024. The Central Government's numerous measures benefitting Hong Kong have injected tremendous momentum into Hong Kong's tourism industry, with around 37.8 million Mainland visitor arrivals recorded in the year, representing an increase of around 11 per cent compared to 2024. Meanwhile, there were around 12.1 million non-Mainland visitor arrivals, reflecting a robust growth of 15 per cent year-on-year.

     In consultation with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the Transport and Logistics Bureau and the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the consolidated reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Chun-ying is as follows:

(1) Starting from October 2025, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the Government) has expanded the scope of passengers exempted from paying the air passenger departure tax, covering more transfer passengers arriving by sea or land and passengers departing by air from the airport on the next day of arrival. This initiative aims to attract more passengers to use Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for transfer, thereby further consolidating Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub. The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and the tourism sector have actively promoted this new initiative to the Chinese Mainland and international visitors with a view to attracting more transfer passengers' spending in Hong Kong.

     Moreover, in November 2025, the Central Government incorporated four ports connecting Hong Kong, including the Guangzhou Pazhou Ferry Terminal, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Zhongshan Port, and the West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link as entry ports into the 240-hour visa-free transit policy for foreign nationals. This arrangement is beneficial to attract more international visitors to take Hong Kong as their first stop, and then embark on multi-destination travel itineraries in the Chinese Mainland via the comprehensive cross-boundary network between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland.

     Separately, HKIA launched a free local tour service designed exclusively for transfer passengers in September 2025, allowing those passengers with longer layovers to leave the airport and visit and spend in different areas in Hong Kong during their transit stay. Tour participants can enjoy exclusive fast-track immigration clearance upon their arrival and departure at HKIA, ensuring smooth access into and out of the restricted areas and timely boarding. This enables the participants to better utilise their transit time to experience Hong Kong's unique culture and explore its distinctive attractions.

     The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) and relevant policy bureaux/departments (b/ds) will continue to work with the Airport Authority Hong Kong, the HKTB, airlines and the travel trade to proactively explore more measures that can attract visitors transiting via Hong Kong to allocate more time for sightseeing and spending in Hong Kong.

(2) Hong Kong is rich in cultural, historical and artistic tourism resources. We are working with relevant b/ds, as well as various stakeholders, to develop diverse travel experiences with Hong Kong's local characteristics. The CSTB and the HKTB will promote the development of "Mega Events + Tourism" through diverse cultural festivals, tourism projects and mega events so as to encourage visitors to extend their stay in Hong Kong and enhance their desire to revisit the city.

     In 2025, we delivered visitors and the public a number of major international cultural and sports events, including the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament, which was staged at the Kai Tak Sports Park for the first time, LIV Golf Hong Kong, Art Basel, Art Central, ComplexCon, Hong Kong Football Festival 2025, the 15th National Games of the People's Republic of China, the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games, concerts of groups from other places and local singers, "Water Parade at Victoria Harbour" featuring renowned Ips (intellectual property) and the large-scale balloon parade "Merry Balloon Hong Kong". The HKTB also organised flagship events, including Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races, Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival, Hong Kong WinterFest, Hong Kong New Year Countdown and International Chinese New Year Night Parade. Among the events, the Hong Kong WinterFest was moved to Central in 2025 to create a vibrant winter festive ambience. Looking ahead, we will continue to organise and support these mega cultural and sports events to further reinforce Hong Kong's position as the Events Capital of Asia.

     Besides, we will seize the opportunity from the enthusiasm for Hong Kong films to promote thematic tourism incorporating film and television cultural elements, encouraging visitors to explore the city's diverse charms. Opened to the public since May 24, 2025, the "Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey" Movie Set Exhibition has been well received by locals and visitors, with more than 291 000 visitors to date, many of whom travelled to Hong Kong specifically for this exhibition. We have also opened the "Yau Ma Tei Police Station: A Cinematic Journey" Exhibition at the Old Yau Ma Tei Police Station on January 2, 2026, which is themed around Hong Kong police and crime films. Public response for this exhibition has been overwhelming, with over 11 000 tickets for January sold out within two weeks. To facilitate visits by visitors and citizens, we will extend the opening hours during Chinese New Year period. The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency will also establish a dedicated brand trademark for the exhibition and develop a range of cultural and creative products integrating elements of Hong Kong police and crime films, the architectural features of the historic police station, and the local culture of the Yau Ma Tei district. By seamlessly integrating these products into the exhibition, it will enrich the visitors' cultural and travel experiences while fostering economic activities within the district.

     We are also actively promoting tourism products featuring "Made in Hong Kong" industrial element. The first phase of the Hong Kong industrial brand tourism scheme comprising three industrial brands within the Tai Po InnoPark, including Lee Kum Kee, Kee Wah and Yakult was launched in September 2025. These brands not only showcase their unique stories but also arrange experiential activities for visitors, such as tours of production processes, tastings or workshops, allowing visitors to understand Hong Kong's industrial history and achievements. We are currently discussing with other industrial brands with a view to launching the next phase of projects.

     In addition, the HKTB also took the advantage of the local food culture and launched the "Taste Hong Kong" Gourmet Guide, in partnership with the Chinese Culinary Institute (CCI). The guide provided visitors with inspirations to explore the city's flavours and enhanced tourism appeal by inviting over 50 local master chefs who graduated from the CCI to recommend 250 of their favourite restaurants across Hong Kong.

(3) Hong Kong is the world's seventh-largest trading entity in merchandise trade and also the region's premier convention and exhibition (C&E) hub. Many well-known international organisations and businesses have chosen to host C&E events in Hong Kong. C&E events, in particular international ones, attract numerous participants (including exhibitors and buyers) to Hong Kong. In addition to benefitting the C&E industry, the high-spending business visitors they bring in also drive economic activities in related sectors, such as accommodation, catering, retail, entertainment, thereby benefitting various industries and bringing important contributions to Hong Kong's economy.

     In view of the contribution of C&E events to Hong Kong's economy, the Government has allocated $1.4 billion to launch the Incentive Scheme for Recurrent Exhibitions (ISRE) in July 2023, subsidising venue rentals of eligible local and international exhibitions organised by private organisers. The ISRE ended on June 30, 2025 and was very well received, with over $1.2 billion approved to support 224 eligible exhibitions. To further promote the development of the C&E industry and the mega event economy in order to generate overall economic benefits for Hong Kong, the Government has allocated an additional provision of $500 million to launch the ISRE 2.0 on July 1, 2025, focusing on attracting new and recurrent international exhibitions of a large scale. In addition, the Government will continue to take forward expansion projects for large-scale C&E facilities to provide additional space for more C&E events to be staged in Hong Kong. This includes the expansion project at the AsiaWorld-Expo, which has commenced construction and is expected to be completed in 2028.

     In addition, the HKTB will continue to proactively bid or assist in bidding for major international conferences to be held in Hong Kong through various funding schemes, targeting, in particular, sectors such as financial services, medical science, information technology and aviation logistics. These include events such as the World Cancer Congress and Consensus Hong Kong. The HKTB will also continue to enhance the Hong Kong Convention Ambassador Programme, leveraging elite leaders from various business and professional sectors to identify and lobby international C&E events to be hosted Hong Kong. In terms of meetings and incentive travel, the HKTB will proactively focus on attracting more corporate meetings and incentive travel groups to Hong Kong. The HKTB will focus on markets such as the Chinese Mainland, Southeast Asia and India, while attracting large-scale direct sales corporates to host large-scale conventions and incentive travel activities in Hong Kong. The HKTB also collaborates with international brands to support them in bringing renowned events to Hong Kong. For example, the HKTB sealed a partnership with "50 Best", and the award ceremonies of "Asia's 50 Best Bars" and "World's 50 Best Bars" were held in Hong Kong in 2024 and 2025 respectively. In March 2026, the award ceremony of "Asia's 50 Best Restaurants" 2026 will also be held in Hong Kong. Besides, the HKTB will introduce event organisers of meetings, incentive travels and conventions and exhibitions (MICE) in advance to mega events and seasonal themed activities in different months, with a view to facilitating their pre-event planning, thereby boosting business visitor spending.

     In 2025, Hong Kong welcomed 2.51 million MICE visitors, increasing by 7 per cent compared to last year. Among them, 1.43 million were overnight visitors, generating a total spending of about $10.7 billion. Throughout the year, more than 360 MICE events were staged in Hong Kong's two major dedicated MICE venues, namely the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and the AsiaWorld-Expo.

     The Government will continue to secure and support the staging of international MICE events of different scales and types in Hong Kong, thereby consolidating Hong Kong's position as an international MICE capital. It will also work with the trade to enhance the travel experience of business visitors, with a view to attracting more high-value-added overnight visitors.

Ends/Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:37

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