Driven by the Mid-Autumn Festival and other festive events, visitor arrivals in Hong Kong surged 22 percent year-on-year to 4.03 million in September, the Hong Kong Tourism Board said on Thursday.

Arrivals from the Chinese mainland increased 29 percent year-on-year to more than 3,170,000 last month, buoyed by festivities like the annual Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance as well as a comparatively low base due to adverse weather during the same period last year, according to HKTB data.

ALSO READ: HK’s countryside becoming a big draw among visitors

Long-haul markets continued to grow at an ideal pace, the HKTB said in a statement, adding that arrivals from these markets grew 20 percent year-on-year to more than 286,000 last month.

Short-haul markets also benefited from the city’s festive events, but visitor growth remained under some pressure due to factors such as flight capacity constraints and fuel surcharges, it said.

READ MORE: HK logs 1.06m visitor arrivals during first 4 days of Golden Week

For the first nine months of 2026, cumulative visitor arrivals reached around 40.7 million, up 12 percent from a year earlier, reflecting the continued growth momentum of Hong Kong’s tourism industry.

Hong Kong has more mega events lined up in the last quarter of this year to attract more high-value visitors: the Hong Kong Halloween Month, the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival, the Hong Kong WinterFest and the Hong Kong New Year Countdown Celebrations, added the HKTB.