Hong Kong recorded almost 300,000 more arrivals in the two days before Christmas Eve than the city did last year, an increase largely driven by residents returning home via the six land checkpoints connected with Shenzhen.
More than 994,000 people entered the city on December 22 and 23 this year, up from about 697,000 over the corresponding days in 2023, according to the Immigration Department.
About 489,000 of the arrivals this year, roughly half, were Hong Kong residents returning to the city via the checkpoints. In 2023, this group only accounted for 37 per cent, or 259,000, of the total.
The number of mainland Chinese tourists arriving recorded a slight decline, going from 240,000 to 233,000.
Over the two days, about 1.09 million people left the city, of which 70 per cent were Hong Kong residents, or about 20,000 less than the 1.11 million last year.
On Tuesday, more than 548,000 people had left the city by 9pm, over 80 per cent of whom were Hongkongers. Meanwhile, only 327,000 had entered Hong Kong by the same time.
Crowds of tourists and locals grew at Instagrammable Christmas hotspots as evening approached on Christmas Eve, while police imposed special traffic arrangements in areas such as Lan Kwai Fong and Tsim Sha Tsui.