This year, China started to ease visa requirements for EU passports and several Asian countries, and the policy successfully boosted the number of foreign visitors.

Mainland China

China recently expanded its visa-free travel policy for passport holders from nine countries, including Romania, Croatia, and Japan. According to the data from China Immigration, over 8 million visitors were recorded in the first three quarters of 2024, about 60% benefiting from the visa-free policy. It is also reported that visitors from Europe surpassed the levels in 2019.

Domestic travel has become more common and popular in mainland China, particularly in non-tier-1 cities. Travellers are now looking for authentic experiences during their holidays, and many young travellers would prefer more affordable destinations in the country instead of overseas destinations. The “blind box” tours to mystery destinations are also popular on OTAs to cater to the changing travel behaviour in China.

Hong Kong SAR

Hong Kong welcomed over 3 million visitors in September 2024, about 65% of the levels in 2018. Mainland China remained the largest feeder market, accounting for 75% of the total visitors, followed by Taiwan, the Philippines, and the USA. The slow recovery of Hong Kong’s tourism also has an impact on its retail industry, as Chinese travellers spend about 30% less than in the pre-pandemic era, according to a report by the Legislative Council. In contrast, long-haul travellers registered a 20% increase in spending, yet they only account for less than 10% of the total visitors to Hong Kong.

The government plans to grow the city’s cruise tourism, as a total of 30 cruise companies include Hong Kong in their routes, bringing about 330,000 non-local cruise passengers to Hong Kong. Additionally, cruise passengers from mainland China are now allowed to cross the border for cruise tours with ease. However, the accessibility to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal mainly relied on taxis and bus, resulting in long queues and inconvenience for large groups of passengers.

Macau SAR

Macau recorded 2.5 million visitors in September, reaching a 91% recovery from the 2019 figure. Mainland China remained the largest source market, accounting for 69% of total visitors to Macau. The gross gaming revenue reached 20.7 billion in October, the highest record since 2020. Mr Sum, the Chief Executive-elect of Macau, announced that he will continue to strengthen Macau’s economic diversification in his five-year term, including diverse tourism offerings beyond gambling.

Macau also saw changes in visitors’ spending, and its non-gaming visitor per-capita spending fell to MOP 2,168 ($272), a 17% y-o-y decrease in the first three quarters. Shopping is reportedly to be the main spending category with 45.6%, followed by 25.5% on accommodations, and 20.8% on food & beverage. In terms of spending by purpose of visit, travelling for shows and MICE recorded MOP5,211 and MOP4,439 per capita, respectively.

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