Hong Kong welcomed nearly 50 million visitors in 2025, with Malaysian arrivals growing 6% as the city expands its Muslim-friendly travel ecosystem.

HONG KONG: The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) reported that the city welcomed over 49.9 million visitors in 2025, marking a 12% year-on-year increase.

Its regional director for Southeast Asia Liew Chian Jia noted that Malaysian arrivals grew 6% year-on-year to reach 430,000 in the same period.

Globally, Hong Kong attracted nearly 50 million visitors, including 3.2 million from Southeast Asia.

Liew highlighted that 75% of Malaysian visitors are repeat travellers, which she said speaks volumes about Hong Kong’s enduring appeal.

She made these remarks during her opening address at the Iftar with Media and Trade 2026 event in Kuala Lumpur.

Liew also pointed to Hong Kong’s high rankings in global Muslim travel indexes, where it was placed first as a Muslim-friendly accessible destination.

The city was ranked second for safety for Muslim women travellers and third as the most Muslim-friendly destination among non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation countries.

Building on this momentum, industry partners in Hong Kong have introduced new initiatives to further enrich the experience for Muslim visitors.

Hong Kong now boasts a total of 195 halal-certified, Muslim-owned and Muslim-friendly eateries and restaurants.

Furthermore, the city has 59 hotels, two attractions and two venues with official Muslim-friendly certification.

In a separate statement, the HKTB noted that 59 hotels are now “Crescent Rated”, which is a globally recognised independent accreditation system.

This system assesses travel services based on how well they meet key needs of Muslim travellers, such as halal food availability and prayer facilities.

These certified properties provide amenities like prayer mats, qibla direction indicators and halal meal options upon request.

Selected hotels in Hong Kong also offer dedicated prayer spaces for the convenience of Muslim guests.

The HKTB stated that following its nine accolades at the Halal in Travel Awards 2025, Hong Kong is entering a new phase of expanded halal-certified infrastructure.

Building on this recognition, Hong Kong has continued to systematically expand its Muslim-friendly offerings across the tourism sector.

 The Sun Malaysia