Hong Kong recorded a total of four million tourists in 2020, ranking 49th in the world in absolute terms.
That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Hong Kong, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.48 tourists per resident, Hong Kong ranked 67th in the world. In East Asia, it ranked 2nd.
In 2019, Hong Kong generated around 32.70 billion US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 8.9 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 22 percent of all international tourism receipts in East Asia.
The most popular city in Hong Kong for international travelers is Hong Kong. In 2021, it reached the 49th place of the world's most popular cities.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2019 spent about 555 US dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of Hong Kong spend only around 273 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
Development of the tourism sector in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2020
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Hong Kong each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.
Data in the chart are given in millions of tourists. The red line represents the average of all 6 countries in East Asia.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 9.60 billion USD, or about 6.6 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 10.20 million tourists at that time and roughly 942 USD per person. Within 24 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased noticeably. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $32.70 billion billion, 9.0 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $585 on their vacation in Hong Kong.
Full figures for 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, are not currently available. However, national and international travel has been restricted worldwide, and some countries have even been closed off from the outside world altogether. Dramatic revenue losses are expected, with some countries experiencing losses of up to more than 80%.
All data for Hong Kong in detail
Year
Number of tourists
Receipts
% of GNP
Receipts per tourist
2020
3.57 m
2019
55.91 m
32.70 bn $
9.0 %
585 $
2018
65.15 m
42.31 bn $
11.70 %
649 $
2017
58.47 m
38.17 bn $
11.18 %
653 $
2016
56.66 m
37.84 bn $
11.79 %
668 $
2015
59.31 m
42.49 bn $
13.73 %
716 $
2014
60.84 m
46.35 bn $
15.90 %
762 $
2013
54.30 m
42.43 bn $
15.39 %
781 $
2012
48.62 m
37.10 bn $
14.13 %
763 $
2011
41.92 m
33.17 bn $
13.35 %
791 $
2010
36.03 m
27.21 bn $
11.90 %
755 $
2009
29.59 m
20.29 bn $
9.5 %
686 $
2008
29.51 m
20.24 bn $
9.2 %
686 $
2007
28.17 m
18.24 bn $
8.6 %
647 $
2006
25.25 m
15.54 bn $
8.0 %
615 $
2005
23.36 m
13.59 bn $
7.5 %
582 $
2004
21.81 m
11.87 bn $
7.0 %
544 $
2003
15.54 m
9.00 bn $
5.6 %
580 $
2002
16.57 m
9.85 bn $
5.9 %
595 $
2001
13.73 m
7.92 bn $
4.7 %
577 $
2000
13.06 m
8.20 bn $
4.8 %
628 $
1999
11.33 m
7.34 bn $
4.4 %
648 $
1998
10.16 m
7.34 bn $
4.3 %
722 $
1997
11.27 m
9.98 bn $
5.6 %
885 $
1996
12.97 m
11.99 bn $
7.5 %
924 $
1995
10.20 m
9.60 bn $
6.6 %
942 $
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2019 spent about 555 US dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of Hong Kong spend only around 273 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
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