Hong Kong records solid visitor growth as same-day tourism spending surges in Macao

HONG KONG — Tourism demand across the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area continued to expand during the second quarter of 2026, supported by stronger regional mobility, major events, improved transport links and growing interest in multi-destination travel.

Official figures indicate that Hong Kong received approximately 12.4 million visitors between April and June 2026, representing an increase of about 8.7 percent compared with the same period in 2025. Visitor arrivals during the first half of the year reached 26.71 million, up 13 percent year on year.

The Chinese mainland remained Hong Kong’s principal source market, accounting for 20.56 million visitors during the first six months of 2026, an increase of 15.5 percent. More than 100 major conventions and exhibitions were also held in the city during this period, reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as an international tourism and MICE destination.

Macao likewise recorded strong tourism-related expenditure during the second quarter. According to the Statistics and Census Service of Macao, visitors’ total non-gaming expenditure rose by 9.8 percent year on year to MOP 20.04 billion. Per-capita spending increased by 5.6 percent to MOP 2,059.

The most significant growth came from same-day visitors, whose total expenditure climbed by 35.1 percent to MOP 4.87 billion. Spending by overnight visitors increased more moderately, rising by 3.6 percent to MOP 15.16 billion.

These figures demonstrate the growing importance of short-distance and cross-border travel within the Greater Bay Area. Easier movement between Hong Kong, Macao, Zhuhai and other Guangdong cities has encouraged more frequent visits, particularly during weekends and public holidays.

MICE visitors remained one of Macao’s highest-value tourism segments, recording average spending of MOP 4,630 per person during the second quarter. The result highlights the economic importance of conventions, exhibitions, corporate meetings and incentive travel beyond Macao’s traditional gaming sector.

Hotel statistics presented a more complex picture. Macao’s average hotel-room occupancy rate reached 90.4 percent during the first half of 2026, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous year. However, the number of hotel guests declined by 1.1 percent, while international hotel guests increased by 12.3 percent. Inbound package-tour visitors fell by 12.6 percent.

The results suggest that tourism demand is gradually shifting away from conventional group travel towards independent, flexible and experience-oriented trips. Visitors are increasingly arranging their own transport and accommodation while combining several Greater Bay Area destinations within a single journey.

The regional trends are also consistent with the tourism-demand forecasting framework developed by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The university’s Greater Bay Area Tourism Demand Forecasting Platform covers nine Guangdong cities—Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing—together with Hong Kong and Macao.

The platform combines official tourism statistics and economic indicators with internet-search data, social-media activity and online visitor reviews. Traditional forecasting and econometric models are integrated with artificial-intelligence techniques to estimate short- and long-term tourism demand and analyse visitor sentiment.

The second-quarter results point to three principal trends across the region: continued growth in visitor movements, the rapid expansion of same-day and short-distance travel, and the increasing importance of high-value segments such as MICE, cultural tourism and international leisure travel.

Nevertheless, the figures also show that rising visitor numbers do not automatically generate longer stays. Tourism authorities and businesses now face the challenge of converting same-day visitors into overnight guests and encouraging spending across accommodation, gastronomy, culture, entertainment and retail.

Developing integrated Hong Kong–Macao–Guangdong itineraries, improving cross-border transport and creating coordinated regional marketing campaigns could help achieve this objective. Greater emphasis on cultural heritage, gastronomy, family attractions, coastal tourism and major events may also reduce the region’s dependence on shopping and gaming.

Overall, the Greater Bay Area’s tourism sector maintained positive momentum in the second quarter of 2026. Its next stage of development, however, will depend less on visitor volume alone and more on length of stay, expenditure, service quality and the ability of its 11 cities to operate as a connected multi-destination tourism region.