Budget 2025: HK$1.2 billion earmarked to boost tourism as city aims to woo visitors from Middle East and ASEAN
Hong Kong Free Press
The government will allocate over HK$1.23 billion to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) to promote the industry as the city seeks to attract “high-end visitors” from the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Financial Secretary Paul Chan has said.
The budget – up from HK$1.09 billion earmarked to the HKTB in the previous fiscal year – is to implement the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0, a five-year plan the government unveiled last December.
It aims to boost the contribution of the tourism sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to around 5 per cent by 2029 and to attract more “high-value overnight visitors” to the city.
The government and the HKTB will “make extra efforts” to attract “more high-end visitors” from the Middle East and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Chan said during his budget speech on Wednesday.
“The government is encouraging various sectors of the community to enhance tourism support facilities, such as providing worship facilities in hotels and stepping up staff training to strengthen the industry’s understanding of the visitors’ different cultural backgrounds,” the finance chief said in Cantonese.
Hong Kong authorities are encouraging restaurants and hotels in the city to apply for a Muslim-friendly certification, for example, providing prayer facilities for Muslim visitors, a government source told HKFP.
During his policy address last October, Chief Executive John Lee urged Hong Kong’s tourism, food and beverage, and taxi sectors to provide better religious, language and catering support for Muslim visitors from the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The HKTB will continue to support hosting more meetings, incentive travels, conventions and exhibitions, which are expected to bring an additional 183,000 visitors and generate around HK$1.4 billion in spending, Chan said on Wednesday.
In addition, the government “will continue to promote and publicise Hong Kong as a mega-events capital,” he added.
The Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit, an annual event organised by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF), will be hosted in Hong Kong in April for the first time, the finance chief said. The event is set to attract representatives from some 40 countries and regions.
“We will step up efforts to promote a series of distinctive tourism products such as eco‑tourism, panda tourism, horse-racing tourism, etc., to enrich travel experiences in Hong Kong,” Chan added.
HKTB chair Pang Yiu-kai welcomed the new funding: ““Investing in tourism promotion is crucial as it not only boosts the economy and creates job opportunities but also promotes Hong Kong’s culture and tells its good stories to the world. HKTB is grateful for the Government’s subvention to support tourism development under fiscal constraints,” he said in a Wednesday press release.
Harbourfront developments
Chan also announced a plan to develop the waterfront and former pier sites in Hung Hom into a new harbourfront landmark. The MTR Corporation has been invited to study this plan.
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- HK$1.2 billion earmarked to boost tourism.
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- Hong Kong airport tax to rise from HK$120 to HK$200.
- Hong Kong considers legalisation of basketball gambling.
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Stay tuned to HKFP for full, trusted coverage of the 2025 budget.
He also said the government planned to “enhance” the harbourfront on both sides of Victoria Harbour, opening refreshment stalls at waterfront sites in Central, Wan Chai, North Point, and Tsim Sha Tsui to attract more visitors.
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