business
Hong Kong welcomed almost 3.4 million visitors in April, according to provisional figures from the Tourism Board. Though it represents a 17.3 per cent increase in visitors compared to last April, the number of arrivals still lags behind the figures seen before the city enacted prolonged Covid-19 travel restrictions in 2020. The city saw 3,391,381 visitors in 2024, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) said in a Tuesday press release – 73.23 per cent of which were from the mainland. See also: Hong Kong faces uphill battle to lure back Chinese tourists after pandemic and protests “For short-haul ma...
Hong Kong Free Press
The Tourism Board will give HK$200 vouchers to visitors from eight Chinese cities who will soon be able to come to Hong Kong under an expanded solo travel scheme, allowing them to experience the city’s “extraordinary charm.” Addressing reporters on Tuesday, Chief Executive John Lee said the vouchers could be spent at “many different types of restaurants and shops.” “The government and the Tourism Board have prepared a series of arrangements so mainland Chinese visitors can feel like they are in a home away from home, and personally experience the extraordinary charm of Hong Kong as an internat...
Hong Kong Free Press
The addition of eight Chinese cities to Hong Kong’s solo travel scheme will be “a timely boost” for the hotel and retail sectors, a veteran industry representative has said. The move by Beijing will allow more citizens to visit the city without joining a group tour. On Saturday, Beijing announced the individual visit scheme will cover several remote cities in China, including Urumqi in Xinjiang, Lhasa in Tibet, and Hohhot in Inner Mongolia. Other newly-added cities include Taiyuan, Harbin, Lanzhou, Xining, and Yinchuan – all capitals of their respective provinces. From May 27, residents from t...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s tourism minister has slammed a political commentator’s “fallacious” assertion that the city’s tourism policy had driven out high-value establishments and yielded weak economic returns. Citing tourism figures, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said more than 760,000 tourists from mainland China crossed the border in Hong Kong over the Labour Day “Golden Week,” with more than 190,000 visiting on May 2, marking a record high for single-day arrivals this year “This has brought business to the tourism sector and other related industries, and though not every business...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s tax revenue dropped by HK$18.2 billion in the last financial year, the second straight year of decline, amid slumps on the stock exchange and in the property market. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) announced on Thursday that it had collected a provisional sum of HK$342 billion in tax revenue in 2023-24, five per cent less than the HK$360.2 billion in 2022-23. In the 2021-22 financial year, authorities collected HK$378.5 billion. Authorities sent out 2.44 million individual tax return forms this year, or 40,000 more than the previous year. Commissioner of Inland Revenue Tam Tai-...
Hong Kong Free Press
Seventy per cent of Hong Kong’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) say their income has dropped below pre-pandemic levels, despite Covid-19 restrictions being lifted a year ago, a survey has found. The Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association and Junior Chamber International Hong Kong conducted a survey in April, interviewing 568 SMEs from sectors ranging from food and beverage to retail. Results released on Thursday showed only 4.4 per cent of the respondents had reported growth since early 2023. “Factors such as the rising trend of northbound travel among Hongkongers, international...
Hong Kong Free Press
A US bill has been introduced to rename part of the street in front of Hong Kong’s representative office in Washington DC “Jimmy Lai Way.” The move aims to honour the 76-year-old media tycoon currently facing a national security trial in Hong Kong, though the city’s government urged the US not to “interfere” in its affairs when approached by HKFP for a response on Monday. According to a press release from Republican congressman Chris Smith last Thursday, the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office would be forced to state its address as “1 Jimmy Lai Way” in reference to “the renowned Hong Kong human r...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong is set to raise the hourly minimum wage by 4.5 per cent to HK$41.8, local media have reported citing sources. The Minimum Wage Commission will also reportedly review the amount annually going forward, rather than every two years. The adjustment would come after years of calls from labour activists for more frequent assessments to keep pace with inflation. The city’s minimum wage is currently set at HK$40. It was most recently raised by HK$2.50 last year after remaining frozen at HK$37.50 since 2019, with Chief Executive John Lee saying he wanted to thank workers for their “important ...
Hong Kong Free Press
The Hong Kong government has neither invested in nor offered “additional policy benefits or financial support” to any family offices, a spokesperson has said, after news that a Dubai sheikh planned to set up a family office in the city triggered suspicion surrounding his identity and source of wealth. Sheikh Ali Rashed Ali Saeed Al Maktoum, who said he was a nephew of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced his plan to set up a family office in Hong Kong to manage up to US$500 million in a Bloomberg interview in March. The move attracted attention ...
Hong Kong Free Press
Industry representatives have said that local businesses saw a drop in trade over the long Easter weekend, as Hongkongers made almost 1.76 million outbound trips – four times the number of inbound visitor figures. According to Immigration Department data, Hong Kong residents made almost 1.76 million outbound trips from Friday to Monday, while mainland and other visitors made 400,369 inbound trips to Hong Kong in the same timeframe. The department logged 700,808 departures by Hong Kong residents on Friday, 453,946 on Saturday, 358,300 on Sunday, and 246,369 on Monday. Hong Kong resident arrival...
Hong Kong Free Press
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