Hong Kong witnessed 2.08 lakh visitors from India in the first 12 months since its re-opening for international travel and hopes to double this number in 2024 and surpass pre-COVID-19 levels, according to its tourism promotion body.
“We are a visa-free destination, which is a massive appeal,” said Puneet Kumar, Director, of South Asia and Middle East, at Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) about the measures being taken to woo Indian travellers. He was speaking on the sidelines of South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange 2024.
The arrivals from India last year were a mere 53% of the number seen in 2018, which was at 3.86 lakh. Hong Kong’s total international arrivals in 2023 were at 34 million, which stood at 65.2 million in 2018. HKTB draws a comparison with 2018 instead of 2019 as the latter was affected by widespread pro-democracy protests. Hong Kong dropped COVID-19 testing protocols for inbound passengers on December 28, 2022.
“The good news is that Indian carriers not only…
