Further illustrating Hong Kong’s mobility recovery, the South China Morning Post reported on 21 January that Cathay Pacific alone carried 28.9 million passengers in 2025, while HK Express lifted 7.9 million. Overall visitor arrivals to the city reached 49.9 million, up 12 per cent. The newspaper highlights that demand was fuelled by relaxed entry rules—including expanded e-Channel eligibility down to age seven—and promotional campaigns such as complimentary air-ticket giveaways to Southeast Asia.
Industry analysts quoted in the article note that Hong Kong’s connectivity is approaching 90 per cent of 2019 levels, with seat factors consistently above 80 per cent on North-Asia and long-haul routes. The surge has knock-on benefits for serviced apartment occupancy, which averaged 87 per cent in Q4, and for corporate meeting and incentive travel, now back to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic volumes.
Travel planners navigating these revived routes should also keep documentation in order. VisaHQ’s Hong Kong platform (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers a quick, user-friendly way to verify visa requirements, complete applications online and arrange secure courier collection, ensuring both tourists and executives reach the city without administrative hiccups.
![Cathay passenger surge underscores tourism rebound, says SCMP]()
For the city’s talent-attraction agenda, the restored flight network makes short-term project deployments more viable. Immigration consultants add that they are seeing faster turnaround on employment visas as the Immigration Department reallocates resources previously tied up with quarantine enforcement.
Nevertheless, labour shortages persist. Cathay is recruiting 5,000 staff this year, while airport ground-handling contractors are offering joining bonuses of up to HK$10,000 to retain ramp workers during peak periods.
Multinational companies should refresh travel budgets to reflect higher seat availability but also potential fare hikes amid fuel-price volatility. Early-year booking windows of 14-21 days are advisable for securing business-class inventory to Europe and North America.
Industry analysts quoted in the article note that Hong Kong’s connectivity is approaching 90 per cent of 2019 levels, with seat factors consistently above 80 per cent on North-Asia and long-haul routes. The surge has knock-on benefits for serviced apartment occupancy, which averaged 87 per cent in Q4, and for corporate meeting and incentive travel, now back to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic volumes.
Travel planners navigating these revived routes should also keep documentation in order. VisaHQ’s Hong Kong platform (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers a quick, user-friendly way to verify visa requirements, complete applications online and arrange secure courier collection, ensuring both tourists and executives reach the city without administrative hiccups.
For the city’s talent-attraction agenda, the restored flight network makes short-term project deployments more viable. Immigration consultants add that they are seeing faster turnaround on employment visas as the Immigration Department reallocates resources previously tied up with quarantine enforcement.
Nevertheless, labour shortages persist. Cathay is recruiting 5,000 staff this year, while airport ground-handling contractors are offering joining bonuses of up to HK$10,000 to retain ramp workers during peak periods.
Multinational companies should refresh travel budgets to reflect higher seat availability but also potential fare hikes amid fuel-price volatility. Early-year booking windows of 14-21 days are advisable for securing business-class inventory to Europe and North America.
