Hong Kong tourist arrivals up 3% in July as bad weather curbs mainland growth

Hong Kong recorded about 4.5 million visitor arrivals in July, up 3 per cent from a year earlier, as major international conventions boosted business travel while bad weather weighed on growth from mainland China, according to the Tourism Board.

The board said on Monday that a series of major international meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE), including the 108th Lions International Convention and the technology exhibition LEAP East, helped drive an increase in business visitors and arrivals from some source markets.

Mainland visitor numbers grew just 3 per cent year on year to about 3.61 million, which the board attributed mainly to several days of inclement weather. Mainland tourists accounted for about 80 per cent of the total in July.

The Hong Kong Observatory earlier described July as “much gloomier and wetter” than usual, citing rain associated with broad troughs of low pressure, an active southerly airstream and tropical cyclones Maysak and Noul. Total rainfall reached 790.3 mm, more than double the July normal.

In the first seven months of the year, Hong Kong received 31.22 million visitors, an 11 per cent increase from the same period in 2025.

Mainland arrivals reached 24.16 million in the seven-month period, up 13 per cent year on year, while non-mainland visitors rose 5 per cent to about 7.05 million.