Hong Kong is back in favour with Australian travellers. Visitor numbers rose 20 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2026.
New Hong Kong Tourism Board data show that 267,000 Aussies visited the city from January to June. January led the charge. Visits rose 32 per cent to 71,000 for the month.
April also did brisk trade. The Hong Kong Sevens and the Easter break drew 55,000 Australians. June then logged a 24 per cent rise. This was no brief holiday fling. The 2026 Hong Kong Sevens was held at Kai Tak Stadium from 17 to 19 April.
The result is a clear win for Hong Kong. Asian cities are in a fierce race for each passport and travel dollar. Yet the city is giving Aussies more cause to stop, stay and spend.
HKTB Director for Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific Karen Macmillan said, “it’s really pleasing to see this growth continue from such a competitive base.”
She said the city’s full events calendar and its role as a hub for longer stops had helped boost overnight stays. Such visits from Australia rose 17 per cent. New Zealand gained 11 per cent.
Hong Kong is also broadening its pitch. Food and shops still draw a crowd, as they should. Yet the sales story now encompasses art, local life, major events, hikes, and island trips.
That mix is a strong trade tool. It lets agents sell more than a quick stop between flights. A client can pair harbour views and fine food with beaches, hills and quiet islands. Few great cities change gears so fast.
HKTB promotes festivals and cultural celebrations throughout the year. Its official outdoor program also features beaches, hiking trails, country parks and island escapes within easy reach of the city centre.
The wider market is also on the rise. Hong Kong welcomed about 26.71 million guests in the first six months of 2026. That was up 13 per cent on the year before. June brought 3.72 million guests, a gain of 7 per cent.
For Australian travel sellers, the chance is plain. Hong Kong can work as a short city break, an event trip or a long stop with real depth. The skyline still gets top billing. The rest of the city is now making a fine case for the encore.
By: Michelle Warner – © 2026.
Read Time: 2 minutes.
Author Bio:
Michelle Warner has always carried stories the way others carry passports lightly, faithfully, and with purpose. She learned her craft in newsrooms, shaping sentences with care, before swapping deadlines for departures as a flight attendant with some of the world’s great airlines. Years aloft sharpened her eye for character and deepened her fondness for the small, dignified rituals of travel, the quiet kindness of strangers, the poetry of arrival, the patience learned between time zones.
Now grounded by choice, Michelle has come home to writing with the same calm authority she once brought to turbulent cabins. Her prose blends an editor’s discipline with a traveller’s wonder, tinged with humour and reverence for the golden age of travel. Each piece feels like a handwritten boarding pass, gracious, observant, and unmistakably alive.
