Finance chief says Hong Kong on track for strongest quarterly growth in 5 years

Growth to exceed 4 per cent, backed by 17 per cent rise in visitors and 5.2 per cent gain in retail and catering spending, Paul Chan says

Hong Kong is set for its strongest quarterly growth in nearly five years, the finance chief has said, citing a 17 per cent rise in visitor numbers and a 5.2 per cent increase in retail and catering spending.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his Sunday blog that 602,000 visitors entered Hong Kong in the first two days of mainland China’s Labour Day “golden week” break, a rise of 6 per cent year on year.

Despite a complex and rapidly changing external environment, Hong Kong’s economy continued to improve in both scale and quality, supported by stronger private consumption and solid exports and fixed investment, he said.

“The first-quarter gross domestic product forecast to be released this week is expected to accelerate further from the revised 4 per cent growth in the fourth quarter of last year, marking the strongest quarterly growth in nearly five years,” he said.

Chan added that inbound tourism levels remained strong, with visitor numbers for the first three months of 2026 rising by 17 per cent to more than 14.3 million year on year, a post-pandemic quarterly high.

Arrivals were expected to exceed the original full-year forecast of 53.8 million, helping to push inbound tourism-related spending above HK$240 billion (US$30.6 billion), up by 9.5 per cent from last year, he said.

“These factors will consolidate the positive outlook for the local retail and catering sectors, continuing to provide support for overall economic growth and the labour market,” he said.