Hong Kong back on the hot list for Aussie travellers

Australians are rediscovering their affection for Hong Kong, with visitor numbers surging by 33% across January-June 2025 compared to the same period last year.

Some 223,000 Australians made their way to Hong Kong in the first six months of this year, says the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

That number continues to close the gap against the previous peak of around 290,000 in 2018, according to the Hong Kong Immigration Department.

The Hong Kong Sevens inaugurated the new Kai Tak Stadium in March.

Helping fuel the rebound was a ‘Super March’ calendar featuring the Hong Kong Sevens played at the 28-hectare Kai Tak Sports Park (where the old Hong Kong International Airport once stood), the second annual LIV Golf tournament, and Art Basel Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Disneyland Resort is also celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2025 with year-long celebrations, while the West Kowloon Cultural District continues to be a drawcard.

The West Kowloon Cultural District continues to be a drawcard.

Cathay Pacific is enjoying a similar uptick in passengers to Hong Kong and beyond, with its Australian network back at pre-pandemic levels, although Adelaide and Cairns remain seasonal services for now.

“We’re seeing strong momentum out of Australia with Hong Kong rebounding as both a destination and a vital hub for onward travel,” notes Frosti Lau, Cathay’s Regional General Manager for the Southwest Pacific.

This includes Hong Kong once again being a springboard into mainland China, which now allows Australians travelling for tourism or business to stay without a visa for up to 30 days.

“Since extended visa-free access to the Chinese Mainland was introduced for Australians earlier this year, we’ve seen growing interest in the 22 Chinese mainland cities we operate into as a Group, such as Shanghai and Beijing,” Lau tells Executive Traveller.

In a vote of confidence, Cathay now flies its all-new Aria Suite business class and third-gen premium economy to Sydney.

Cathay Pacific is now flying its new Aria Suite business class to Sydney.

“Incredibly, one in three corporate travellers flying between Australia and Hong Kong were booking the premium cabin classes in the first half of 2025,” says Melissa Elf, Global COO for Flight Centre Corporate.

“That’s a far greater volume of bookings at the front end of the plane than we’d generally see to other international destinations (and) it goes to show the strong commitment to travel spend that occurs on this route,” Elf tells Executive Traveller.

And business travellers are staying longer in Hong Kong, too, spending “an average of 10 days, compared with the international six-day average.”

Hong Kong continues to attract business and corporate travellers.

Additionally, the HKTB figures don’t take into account the many travellers who simply transit through the airport on the way to elsewhere in Asia or Europe, which is where Cathay also sees strong performance. 

“Many travellers have continued to fly to destinations such as London, Tokyo, Sapporo, Rome and Paris,” observes Cathay’s Lau, citing this as “a clear sign of Australians’ strong desire to reconnect with the world, with Hong Kong serving as a key gateway.”

But Cathay isn’t getting all of the action to itself, as rival Hong Kong Airlines extends its wings to Sydney and Melbourne – which Qantas continues to serve with daily flights.