International tourism, number of departures in Hong Kong
Hong Kong: International tourism, number of departures was 8.26 million in 2020. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of departures in Hong Kong, 1998–2020
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
Hong Kong recorded 8.26 million for international tourism, number of departures in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 91.3% on the previous year and down 90.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of departures in Hong Kong peaked at 94.72 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 8.26 million, in 2020.
That places Hong Kong 24th out of 117 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
International tourism, number of departures in Hong Kong, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 47.59 million | — |
| 1999 | 53.14 million | +11.7% |
| 2000 | 58.90 million | +10.8% |
| 2001 | 61.10 million | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 64.54 million | +5.6% |
| 2003 | 60.94 million | -5.6% |
| 2004 | 68.90 million | +13.1% |
| 2005 | 72.30 million | +4.9% |
| 2006 | 75.81 million | +4.9% |
| 2007 | 80.68 million | +6.4% |
| 2008 | 81.91 million | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 81.96 million | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 84.44 million | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 84.82 million | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 85.28 million | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 84.41 million | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 84.52 million | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 89.08 million | +5.4% |
| 2016 | 91.76 million | +3.0% |
| 2017 | 91.30 million | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 92.21 million | +1.0% |
| 2019 | 94.72 million | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 8.26 million | -91.3% |
Hong Kong compared with similar countries
- Hong Kong's 8.26 million is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.67 million, 3.1× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Hong Kong's 8.26 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 707,000, 11.7× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where International tourism, number of departures in Hong Kong changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -91.3% | 94.72 million | 8.26 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 50.37 million | 47.59 million | 53.14 million | 2 |
| 2000s | 70.70 million | 58.90 million | 81.96 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 88.25 million | 84.41 million | 94.72 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.26 million | 8.26 million | 8.26 million | 1 |
Countries ranked near Hong Kong
More private sector data for Hong Kong
- Merchandise trade 371.0% (2025)
- Food imports 2.8% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 80.8% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 831.83 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 93.42 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 1.3% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 85.7% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 753.58 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 115.24 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 100,492 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of departures in Hong Kong?
- International tourism, number of departures in Hong Kong was 8.26 million in 2020, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, number of departures recorded in Hong Kong?
- The highest recorded value was 94.72 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of departures recorded in Hong Kong?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.26 million in 2020.
- How does Hong Kong rank for international tourism, number of departures?
- Hong Kong ranks 24th out of 117 countries with data for 2020.
- Is international tourism, number of departures rising or falling in Hong Kong?
- Over the last ten years it is down 90.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Hong Kong data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, number of departures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.