Total visitor arrivals up 4.7% to 5.59m in December

The influx of tourists from the Mainland contributed significantly to the year-end figures.

Year-end visitor arrivals rose 4.7% YoY to 5.59m tourists amidst a modest revival in inbound tourism for 2017, according to data from the Tourism Board.

Visitor arrivals from the Mainland rose 7.2% YoY to account for three fourths of total arrivals to 4.23m tourists in December.

Taiwanese, South Korean and Japanese visitors accounted for a significant share in short haul markets after posting 174,824, 131,898 and 109,572 respectively. 

On the other hand, the USA dominated the long-haul markets after registering 109,783 tourists. 

Overall, Hong Kong’s battered tourism sector is slowly showing signs of recovery as total visitor arrivals increased 3.2% to 58.47m tourists in 2017.