The recommendation comes against the backdrop of a highly concentrated visitor base. In 2025, 76 percent of inbound travellers to Hong Kong originated from Mainland China, with only 24 percent coming from the rest of the world. While total arrivals are estimated to have reached 50.3 million in 2025, this remains significantly below the pre-pandemic peak of 65.3 million recorded in 2018—a decline of nearly 23 percent.

Business travel, a key pillar of Hong Kong’s tourism economy, has also yet to fully recover. Spending by business travellers is projected to remain 16.8 percent below 2018 levels, reflecting the lingering effects of the 2019 civil unrest followed by the global disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.