Hong Kong expects to double Indian footfalls this year with events lined-up

Hong Kong is expecting to double the number of Indian travellers this year with a line-up of festivals and events to boost tourism, a top executive of HK Tourism Board has said. Last year, 2,08,000 Indians travelled to Hong Kong. "We want to double this number this year and have many festivals and events lined up to boost tourism this year. In the first half of 2024, Hong Kong welcomed 1,81,000 visitors from India, which is 89 per cent of the pre-Covid time," Hong Kong Tourism Board Director, South Asia and Middle East, Puneet Kumar told PTI. Looking at this growth in momentum, the HK Tourism Board is hoping to cross the pre-Covid (2018) level of tourist arrivals this year, he added. Hong Kong Tourism Board takes 2018 as the benchmark for pre-Covid times as in 2019, the tourism industry almost came to a standstill with cancellation of hundreds of flights as the country saw protests against the Hong Kong government's introduction of a bill to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance w