Hong Kong’s deputy financial secretary has said a string of mega events that started earlier this month may bring in a combined 4 million overseas and local attendees, while visitor numbers this year are predicted to increase nearly 50 per cent from 2023.
The city was expected to welcome about 50 million tourists throughout 2024, a significant increase from the 34 million who came to the city last year, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun told a radio programme on Saturday.
The forecast takes into consideration the government’s “Art March” campaign, which encompasses Art Basel, Art Central, the International Cultural Summit in the West Kowloon Cultural District and the hundreds of illuminated egg-shaped objects set to light up Victoria Harbour later in the month.
The drive was expected to bring in 4 million attendees, including tourists and locals, Wong said.
He added that government economists had estimated that every batch of 1.5 million tourists would contribute…