Over 100 mega events spotlighting the arts, fashion, kung fu and other areas of interest will be held in Hong Kong within the next six months, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced on Tuesday.
These events, which include 60 new additions to the city’s events calendar, are expected to bring about 1.7 million visitors into Hong Kong and to generate about HK$7.2 billion ($923 million) in consumer spending, Lee said.
The 100-plus events to be staged over the following months will include cultural and creative activities, festival parades, sports competitions, trade fairs, financial summits and more
At his regular news conference on Tuesday, Lee said that 60 mega events will be added to the line-up in the second half of this year. In total, the number of events scheduled for 2024 will climb to 210, an increase of over 40 percent on plans made at the beginning of the year.
“This means that Hong Kong will have at least one mega event every two days,” Lee said.
The 100-plus events to be staged over the following months will include cultural and creative activities, festival parades, sports competitions, trade fairs, financial summits and more.
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Lee said that the total number of visitor arrivals reached 14.62 million in the first four months of this year — double that of the same period last year.
Lee added that the number of visitors from the United States, Canada and Indonesia increased by 80 percent in April, with most of these visitors staying for more than one day.
The city’s aviation transportation capacity is expected to have returned to its pre-COVID levels by the end of this year, making it easier for more long-haul passengers to visit Hong Kong, Lee said.
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Lee also thanked the central government for the recent measures it has put in place to benefit Hong Kong, such as its expansion of the Individual Visit Scheme to more mainland cities.
He said he believes the mega events will be synergistic with the favorable policies of the central authorities.
The HKSAR government will continue to work with the central government in the hope of seeing more tourism-boosting measures implemented, such as increasing the tax allowance for Chinese mainland visitors, to stimulate the local retail market, Lee added.
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Lee also said at Tuesday’s news conference that arrangements for the waste-charging scheme, expected to be implemented citywide in August, will be further discussed by the authorities to take into consideration the feedback from the community.
Lee said that next week the government will meet with the Legislative Council’s Panel on Environmental Affairs to discuss progress with the pilot program, which began on April 1 and covers 14 locations across the city.
