The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region saw approximately 33.2 million visitors during the first eight months of the year, recording a significant increase of 12 percent compared to the same period in 2024, the city’s tourism chief said on Monday.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui made the remarks when briefing the Legislative Council’s Panel on Economic Development on the city’s major tourism initiatives outlined in the 2025 Policy Address.

Among 33.2 million visitors, tourists from the Chinese mainland accounted for 25.5 million, while non-mainland tourists numbered 7.65 million, both recording double-digit growth of 11 percent and 16 percent respectively compared to last year’s figures, Law said.

“These figures have reflected that various strategies in the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong's Tourism Industry 2.0 are gradually beginning to bear fruit,” she told lawmakers.

In the 2025 Policy Address, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, together with other bureaus and departments, introduced new policies and measures to support tourism development and implement the concept of "tourism is everywhere" in Hong Kong, she said.

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Highlighting that the policy address put forward a plan to develop the yacht economy, Law stressed the Development Bureau was actively advancing work on the construction of yacht berths in locations such as Aberdeen and Lamma Island.

“This year's Policy Address proposes optimizing supporting facilities for the yacht industry, including the entry process for yachts visiting Hong Kong,” the tourism chief said.

The development and collaboration of yacht tourism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will help promote high-end yachting tourism in Hong Kong, she added.

Law said the SAR government will also promote cruise tourism by attracting more cruise ships to come to Hong Kong, adding that the number of cruise ships that will visit the city this year was expected to increase by 20 percent to 188 compared to 2024.

On developing tourism markets, the SAR government is actively promoting the city as a leading Muslim-friendly tourism destination, Law said.

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“From January to August this year, Hong Kong has recorded about 54,000 visitors from the Middle East, a nearly 40 percent increase over the same period last year,” she added.

Law said their average spending in the first half of 2025 was approximately HK$10,400 ($1,337), nearly double the average spending of all tourists overall, which was about HK$5,400.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board has also launched a program to subsidize restaurants' applications for halal certification.

“From Sept 17, the day the policy address was announced, to the end of 2026, restaurants that successfully obtained the certification will receive a 50 percent subsidy on the certification fee, capped at HK$5,000,” Law said.

Hong Kong will also continue to facilitate the development of “mega events + tourism” by attracting tourists through cultural, sports, festivals, tourism events and other large-scale activities, Law said, adding that relevant policy bureaus and departments will introduce new measures in their respective areas on promoting "ecology + tourism".

Reiterating that the most important goal in sports at the moment was to successfully host the 15th National Games and the 12th National Games for People with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games, she said that the SAR government had collaborated with different industries to launch tourism products to attract visitors who enjoy watching sports events.

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“We will continue to leverage the strengths of the Kai Tak Sports Park as a key venue for major sporting events and industrial development, promoting the development of ‘sports + events’,” Law said.