Non-mainland visitors rise 16pc as HK sees 4.6m arrivals in October

Hong Kong saw a solid rise in non-Chinese Mainland visitors last month, with 9.62 million arrivals recorded in the first 10 months of the year — a 16 percent jump compared with the same period in 2024, according to provisional figures released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB).

Short-haul markets picked up strongly, surging 20 percent year on year in October to 590,854 visitors, while long-haul arrivals grew 21 percent to 373,183. New markets posted the sharpest growth, climbing 26 percent to 78,737 visitors last month.

From January to October, short-haul arrivals rose 18 percent to 5.25 million, long-haul visitors climbed 19 percent to 2.79 million, and new markets expanded 15 percent to 614,259.

The robust October performance helped push overall arrivals to about 4.6 million for the month, up 12 percent from a year earlier. Cumulatively, total arrivals reached 41 million in the first 10 months of 2025 — also a 12 percent increase year on year.

Mainland visitors continued to make up the bulk of arrivals, totaling 31.44 million between January and October, an 11 percent rise from last year. Growth from non-Mainland markets remained comparatively stronger, with Taiwan, Australia and the Middle East showing the most notable improvements.