Tourism consultancy Travel and Tour World reports that 153,383 visitors entered Hong Kong on 15 February, the first day of the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday—up 10 per cent on 2025’s opening-day figure. Mainland Chinese travellers accounted for roughly 78 per cent of arrivals, reflecting the easing of visa hurdles and the resumption of high-speed rail services that were suspended during the pandemic.
![Visitor arrivals jump 10 % on first day of Lunar New Year, buoying Hong Kong tourism]()
For travellers who still need to arrange entry permits, VisaHQ’s streamlined online platform (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers step-by-step guidance, document pre-screening and swift submission to consulates, saving both leisure visitors and corporate mobility teams valuable time as Hong Kong’s arrival numbers climb.
Cumulative arrivals for the first two days reached 265,140, a 7.8 per cent year-on-year increase. Immigration control points at Lo Wu and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge each processed more than 35,000 incoming passengers on the first day alone. The Immigration Department said average clearance time at Lo Wu dropped to eight minutes thanks to the wider roll-out of e-Channel lanes for frequent mainland visitors. The travel spike is translating directly into receipts. Hotel occupancy in core districts hit 90 per cent, according to the Hong Kong Hotels Association, while major attractions such as Ocean Park and Ngong Ping 360 reported ticket sales exceeding 2025 levels. Retail analysts at DBS expect first-quarter tourism spending to rise 12 per cent year-on-year if daily arrivals average 140,000 through February. Corporate mobility teams stand to benefit from the momentum. Airlines have added extra frequencies on Guangzhou-Hong Kong and Shanghai-Hong Kong routes, improving seat availability for short-notice business trips. Yet the stronger-than-expected tourist inflow means premium-class fares are inching up; travel managers may need to adjust cost forecasts for regional meetings in March and April. Longer term, the surge supports the government’s target of 46 million total visitor arrivals in 2026. Success will hinge on sustaining streamlined immigration procedures and expanding capacity at border checkpoints—objectives that dovetail with the imminent opening of HKIA’s new Terminal 2.
For travellers who still need to arrange entry permits, VisaHQ’s streamlined online platform (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers step-by-step guidance, document pre-screening and swift submission to consulates, saving both leisure visitors and corporate mobility teams valuable time as Hong Kong’s arrival numbers climb.
Cumulative arrivals for the first two days reached 265,140, a 7.8 per cent year-on-year increase. Immigration control points at Lo Wu and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge each processed more than 35,000 incoming passengers on the first day alone. The Immigration Department said average clearance time at Lo Wu dropped to eight minutes thanks to the wider roll-out of e-Channel lanes for frequent mainland visitors. The travel spike is translating directly into receipts. Hotel occupancy in core districts hit 90 per cent, according to the Hong Kong Hotels Association, while major attractions such as Ocean Park and Ngong Ping 360 reported ticket sales exceeding 2025 levels. Retail analysts at DBS expect first-quarter tourism spending to rise 12 per cent year-on-year if daily arrivals average 140,000 through February. Corporate mobility teams stand to benefit from the momentum. Airlines have added extra frequencies on Guangzhou-Hong Kong and Shanghai-Hong Kong routes, improving seat availability for short-notice business trips. Yet the stronger-than-expected tourist inflow means premium-class fares are inching up; travel managers may need to adjust cost forecasts for regional meetings in March and April. Longer term, the surge supports the government’s target of 46 million total visitor arrivals in 2026. Success will hinge on sustaining streamlined immigration procedures and expanding capacity at border checkpoints—objectives that dovetail with the imminent opening of HKIA’s new Terminal 2.
