In his weekly blog posted on Sunday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po stated that the city is bustling with visitors from the finance and investment sectors, wealth management professionals, family office owners and managers, as well as artists, art enthusiasts, sports professionals, and fans attending numerous financial summits and cultural, sports, and arts events.
He mentioned that the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament crowned the weekend with its vibrancy, culminating on Sunday at the new 50,000-seat venue at the Kai Tak Sports Park.
As of Friday, March saw the arrival of 3.4 million visitors, marking a 12 percent year-on-year increase, which included 960,000 arrivals from places outside mainland China. Hotel occupancy in popular districts surged to around 90 percent, Chan reported.
“During interactions with these international guests, a common piece of feedback I received was that they feel Hong Kong has regained its previous vibrancy and energy, resulting in increasingly positive perceptions of the city,” he wrote.
“They also expressed a desire to leverage Hong Kong as a gateway to explore further investment prospects in the mainland and the surrounding region.”
Chan committed to fostering the “event economy” by orchestrating large-scale events, summits, and exhibitions with unique themes, aiming to attract more high-value business tourists to Hong Kong and generate additional business opportunities for various related sectors in the city.
