HONG KONG - Hong Kong is kicking off its most popular sporting event the Rugby Sevens on Friday and hosting international art fair Art Basel as part of a tourism drive that authorities hope will boost visits to the Asian financial hub.

The city has seen tourists increasingly return since last year. In 2024, arrivals had rebounded to 68 percent of the record levels of 2018, but the city faces challenges in fully reviving the industry due to heightened air ticket prices and a worker shortage, according to industry experts.

The government's "Super March" tourism promotions are designed to provide a major stimulus for the sector.

The Cathay Pacific and HSBC sponsored Rugby Sevens event, held at the city's new Kai Tak Sports Park, has sold a record number of tickets, including all suites and corporate boxes, in an indicator of corporate demand, its organizer said

The Sevens, which runs from Friday to Sunday, has seen strong overseas demand for hotels, with bookings during the period exceeding normal overseas growth rates by 20 percent, according to the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners.

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Art Basel, which is also being held from Friday to Sunday, has exceeded expectations with growth of more than 130 percent year-on-year driven by strong performances from East and Southeast Asian countries, said Caspar Tsui, the federation's executive director.

Provisional visitor numbers for January and February rose 7 percent year-on-year, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, which added that the number of non-Chinese mainland visitors surged 20 percent to 1.91 million.

The Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea all posted year-on-year growth of more than 30 percent for the first two months of this year, the tourism board said, adding that Australia showed an "exceptional boost of 34 percent" in tourist numbers to Hong Kong during that period.

In early April, the city is set to host a string of highly anticipated concerts by British rock band Coldplay. 

Coldplay is set to play at the Kai Tak Sports Park where the Sevens will also be held. The 50,000-seat stadium is the city's first venue that is large enough to host big international acts and has been touted by the government and business executives as a catalyst for the city.

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"It's a game-changer for Hong Kong because we missed out on all the stars before, like Taylor Swift, and all the acts going to Singapore," said Allan Zeman, a prominent businessman and economic adviser to Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.

He said Lan Kwai Fong, a nightlife strip in the city's financial district that is popular with international visitors and residents, has seen business up 8 to 10 percent at the start of March from February.