In this file photo dated Aug 20, 2019, Tourists visit the Peak Hong Kong scenic spot in south China's Hong Kong. (LU HANXIN / XINHUA)

HONG KONG — Hong Kong recorded around 2.45 million tourist arrivals in March 2023, up 68 percent from a month earlier, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) said.

Hong Kong saw a cumulative of 4.41 million inbound visitors from January to March, which is about 30 percent of the average quarterly figure before the pandemic (2017-2019). Most visitors came from the Chinese mainland and the Southeast Asian markets, according to data released by the HKTB on Friday.

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In March, more than 1.96 million visitor arrivals in Hong Kong were from the Chinese mainland. Meanwhile, the number of non-mainland visitors also went up when compared with that in February, with visitors for short-haul and long-haul markets increasing by around 67,800 and 56,600 respectively.

The HKTB said the line-up of international cruise arrivals in March also helped bring in long-haul international visitors.