By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-18 07:04:42 | Updated at 2025-01-18 11:09:11
4 hours ago
The number of trips to Hong Kong by mainland Chinese visitors rose 27 per cent year on year as the 2024 tally reached 34 million, according to official figures, with observers saying the uptick is likely to continue but expressing doubt over its economic impact.
Hong Kong also recorded a 48 per cent year-on-year surge in residents making trips across the border, reaching more than 93 million, over the same period.
But while experts said that such growth was expected to continue, they believed it was likely to slow down this year.
The data from the Immigration Department is based on the number of inbound trips by mainland residents using all crossings and departures by Hongkongers using all checkpoints except the airport.
Appearing on a radio programme on Saturday, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah said that while mainlanders had changed their spending patterns, Hongkongers splashing out in the north had become a habit.
“As a result of the global economic uncertainty and the changing spending patterns of consumers, we have to seek changes, know how to cope with these changes and cope with them,” he said.
