Hong Kong SAR, China: International tourism, receipts (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Hong Kong SAR, China's international tourism, receipts (current US$) fell 22.7% on 2018 (from US$42.31 billion to US$32.7 billion).

Across the 20 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2018), the average change was +9.9% and a typical year strayed about 12.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 34.1% in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 22.7% in 2019. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2019 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 10% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2019, Hong Kong SAR, China had the 2nd highest value of the 10 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Hong Kong SAR, China in the 2019 ranking

• Germany — 1st of 10: US$58.37 billion
• Tanzania — 3rd of 10: US$2.62 billion
• Myanmar — 4th of 10: US$2.5 billion
• Kenya — 5th of 10: US$1.76 billion

What this measures

International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors, including payments to national carriers for international transport. These receipts include any other prepayment made for goods or services received in the destination country. They also may include receipts from same-day visitors, except when these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include receipts for passenger transport items. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips to a country during a given period is counted each time as a new arrival. The data on inbound tourism show the arrivals of nonresident tourists (overnight visitors) at national borders.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 22 values

International tourism, receipts (current US$) in nearby economies

• Australia — US$26.23 billion (2020)
• Brunei Darussalam — US$190 million (2018)
• Cambodia — US$1.12 billion (2020)
• Fiji — US$236 million (2020)
• French Polynesia — US$782 million (2016)
• Indonesia — US$3.53 billion (2020)
• Japan — US$11.4 billion (2020)
• Korea, Rep. — US$11.78 billion (2020)
• Lao PDR — US$227 million (2020)
• Macao SAR, China

More private sector & trade data for Hong Kong SAR, China

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 371.02% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$831.83 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$753.58 billion (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports) — 2.6% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 47.39% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 3.04% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in East Asia & Pacific (% of total merchandise imports) — 49.57% (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Hong Kong SAR, China's international tourism, receipts (current US$)?

US$32.7 billion in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1998?

It is up 345.65% from US$7.34 billion in 1998 (7.38% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$46.35 billion in 2014 and the lowest US$7.34 billion in 1998.

How does Hong Kong SAR, China rank?

2nd highest of 10 economies with data for 2019.

Is the latest change in international tourism, receipts (current US$) unusual for Hong Kong SAR, China?

In 2019, Hong Kong SAR, China's international tourism, receipts (current US$) fell 22.7% on 2018 (from US$42.31 billion to US$32.7 billion). Across the 20 yearly changes before that (1999 to 2018), the average change was +9.9% and a typical year strayed about 12.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.6 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.RCPT.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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