During the 2025 summer holidays, Hong Kong residents showed strong enthusiasm for outbound travel. According to data from the Census and Statistics Department, about 16.35 million outbound trips were recorded between mid-July and August 30, up 9.3% year-on-year, or 1.39 million more trips compared to last year. Among these, around 12.74 million trips were made to mainland China via various border checkpoints, underscoring that traveling north to the mainland has become the dominant summer trend for Hongkongers.
Based on earlier government data, Hongkongers spend an average of HK$680 per trip to Guangdong Province. By this measure, outbound spending in the mainland during the summer period reached HK$11.12 billion, equivalent to about HK$173 million per day. If using the higher estimate of HK$860 per trip, the total could rise to HK$14.06 billion. Experts note that Hongkongers’ frequent visits not only boost retail, dining, and entertainment sectors in the mainland, but also highlight the close tourism interaction between Hong Kong and mainland China.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong received about 7.99 million visitor arrivals during the same period, with roughly 80% coming from the mainland, representing a 13.8% year-on-year increase. Visitors from other regions also rose by 15%. However, the overall “northbound-southbound” gap stood at 6.22 million trips, showing that the number of Hongkongers traveling to the mainland far exceeded inbound tourists, underscoring the significant outflow of local consumption power.