Tourism, a leading pillar of Hong Kong’s economy, has suffered greatly in recent years because of the political unrest in 2019-20, travel constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the travel advisories issued by foreign governments against visiting the city after the implementation of national security laws.

But now the glitter is returning to the Pearl of the Orient, with the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) reporting a 64 percent increase in visitors for the first half of the year compared with last year. That represents 21 million visitors, including 16.15 million from the Chinese mainland. This is a vast improvement from the lull, which in March 2022 saw an all-time low of 1,800 visitors. Restaurants, hotels, and particularly the retail sector suffered tremendously.

Tourism contributes significantly to Hong Kong’s economy, accounting for about 4.5 percent of GDP and a substantial amount of the city’s employment.

So, it was welcome news when the central government announced it would increase the duty-free allowance for returnees from Hong Kong to the mainland. This decision is expected to generate at least HK$17.6 billion ($2.25 billion) for the city’s coffers.

To entice mainland visitors to stay longer, the HKTB simultaneously announced it would roll out 500,000 “Summer Triple Rewards” for overnight visitors with spending discounts on transport, sightseeing, retail, and dining, totaling up to HK$500 per visitor with a total value of over HK$100 million. On average, mainland visitors spend about 3.1 nights in Hong Kong and spend an average of HK$5,400 per capita.

Tourists not only bring obvious benefits to Hong Kong’s tourism industry but also to the financial service sector. For example, life insurance sales surged 39 percent in the first quarter of the year due to solid growth in the number of mainland visitors buying policies in the city, according to the Insurance Authority. New business premiums from mainland visitors amounted to HK$15.6 billion, 24 percent of the total, and up from HK$9.61 billion for the first quarter of last year.

However, malicious travel advisories continue to hamper Hong Kong’s tourism growth. False information, specifically allegations of “arbitrary enforcement” of national security laws, issued by governments of the Five Eyes alliance, suggests that Hong Kong is still an unsafe place to visit. Such ill-intended travel advisories are pure hogwash. Hong Kong’s national security laws would not affect the tourists in the city that are here to shop and have a good time without any criminal intent. The advisories are pure political scaremongering.

The Australian government, for example, updated its advisory on July 3 with: “We continue to advise exercise a high degree of caution in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s Safeguarding National Security Law (Ordinance) came into effect in March 2024.” It warned hysterically that Hong Kong has “strict” laws on national security that can be “interpreted broadly” and that one “could be detained without charge and denied access to a lawyer”. That’s pure malicious nonsense!

The US State Department implored: “Exercise increased caution when traveling to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws.” Canada followed with a similar dark warning: “Exercise a high degree of caution in Hong Kong due to the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws.”

Even Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party authorities joined the verbal-sabotage bandwagon by upgrading their travel alert and urging the island’s residents to avoid unnecessary travel to Hong Kong, Macao and the mainland, citing personal “safety risks” following the enactment of multiple security laws. What paranoia they are inventing!

Incentives offered by the mainland authorities and the HKTB in the past couple of years have helped lift this vital economic pillar out of the doldrums. It has been a mainstay of Hong Kong’s economy for many decades. But to revert to its former glory as a leading global destination, the city needs the international community’s support to lift their misleading negative travel advisories and allow residents to travel freely without fear of imaginary dangers.

The author is a former chief information officer of the Hong Kong government, a PR and media consultant and veteran journalist.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.