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.

The city was expected to welcome about 50 million tourists throughout 2024, a significant increase from the 34 million who came to the city last year, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun told a radio programme on Saturday.

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 the hundreds of illuminated egg-shaped objects set to light up Victoria Harbour later in the month.

The drive was expected to attract 4 million attendees from Hong Kong and overseas, Wong said.

He added that government economists had estimated that every batch of 1.5 million tourists would contribute HK$3 billion (US$383.5 million) to Hong Kong’s gross domestic product.

Authorities also planned to share more timely details on 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.

Wong said the government had already scheduled 80 events for the first half of this year, with more than 70 in the pipeline for the second half.

Wong’s visitor forecast for this year also exceeded the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s earlier estimate of 46 million. But the deputy financial secretary said he was unsure when the city could reach the 65 million people the city welcomed in 2018.

Tourism Board figures showed 4 million tourists visited the city last month, nearly double the amount logged for the same period in 2023.

On the mega-events front, 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 that will dot Victoria Harbour. 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.

Appearing on the same radio programme, Permanent Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Joe Wong Chi-cho said the government wished for revellers to simply appreciate the installations and for them to “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.