Hong Kong’s ‘Art March’ mega events may attract 4 million attendees amid anticipated tourism uptick: city official
- Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong also says Hong Kong expected to welcome about 50 million tourists in 2024, up from 34 million logged last year
- Forecast takes into account government culture and arts drive encompassing Art Basel, Art Central and International Cultural Summit
Hong Kong’s deputy financial secretary has said a string of mega events that started earlier this month may attract a combined 4 million overseas and local attendees, while visitor numbers this year are predicted to increase nearly 50 per cent from 2023.
Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun said on Saturday the city was expected to welcome about 50 million tourists in 2024, a significant increase over last year’s 34 million.
The forecast takes into consideration the government’s “Art March” campaign, which encompasses Art Basel, Art Central, the International Cultural Summit in the West Kowloon Cultural District and a display of hundreds of illuminated egg-shaped objects in Victoria Harbour later this month.
The events were expected to attract a combined 4 million people from Hong Kong and overseas, Wong said.
According to government economists, every batch of 1.5 million tourists was expected to contribute HK$3 billion (US$383.5 million) to Hong Kong’s gross domestic product, he added.
Authorities also planned to share more timely details of the city’s calendar of mega events to ensure the commercial sector had advanced notice of potential business opportunities, he said.
“As they have to know the schedule of the mega events to grab the opportunities … we hope our early release of the calendar can help their arrangements,” he added.
The government had already scheduled 80 events for the first half of this year, and more than 70 were in the pipeline for the second half, he noted.
Wong’s visitor forecast for this year exceeded an earlier estimate of 46 million made by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. But the deputy financial secretary said he was unsure when the city could reach the 65 million visitor mark the city recorded in 2018.
Tourism Board figures showed 4 million people visited the city last month, nearly double the number for the same period in 2023.
Wong said some mainland Chinese travel agencies were organising tours for Hong Kong’s latest exhibition that showcased statues of characters from the works of famous wuxia novelist Louis Cha Leung-yung, also known as Jin Yong.
The statues are on display at Edinburgh Place in Central and the Heritage Museum in Sha Tin.
“As the government, we are not narrowly focused on the economic contribution [brought by the mega events],” Wong said. “We hope they can make city life fun-filled and make clear the position of Hong Kong as an international city and bring happiness to all walks of life.”
In another event taking place during Art March, hundreds of illuminated egg-shaped objects will dot Victoria Harbour. The ovoids, which sit both on land and water in the harbour, are a collaboration between the department and Japanese brand teamLab, an interdisciplinary group of artists formed in 2001 in Tokyo.
The installation is among five appearing on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, which authorities estimate will bring in more than 2 million visitors between March 25 and June 2.
Hong Kong cracks on with ‘Art March’ as colourful ‘eggs’ set to light up harbour
The combined cost of the installations is expected to reach about HK$50 million, the government has said.
Wong also defended the decision by authorities not to charge people visiting the installations, after some lawmakers questioned why the government was not taking the opportunity to boost its income.
Hong Kong’s Art March aims to bring dash of colour to local economy
The finance official said the government had opted for a free admission policy because they wanted attendees to “have fun” at the events.
Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Joe Wong Chi-cho said the government hoped revellers would simply appreciate the installations, which could “enhance the vibes”.
“We still have some activities that are charged, such as business fairs … we should consider the different functions of the various activities,” he said.
