Hong Kong travelers flock southeastern regions in cross-border travel: report

Total volume of cross-border travelers to Mainland China has reached 141 million. 

Travelers from Hong Kong SAR (HKSAR) are increasingly exploring the southeastern coastal regions of China, such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Jinjiang in Fujian province.

Hong Kong also had the highest percentage of travelers under the age of 19 for inbound tourism to the mainland China, according to findings from Mastercard's Cross-border Tourism Consumption Trends Report 2023-2024.

Hong Kong travellers are amongst the 141 million cross-border tourists that travelled to Mainland China in the first three months. This is about 83% of the number of travelers that visited the mainland in Q1 2019.

Mainland Chinese travellers are also headed to Hong Kong, with the flight volumes from the mainland to Hong Kong between 2023 and 2024 now equal to 82% of the level observed in 2019.

So-called 'first-tier' cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou were the most popular inbound travel destinations in mainland China.

Emerging cities like Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Xiamen also made the list.

Internet-famous cities like Harbin are also attracting tourists, Mastercard said.