Hong Kong's Five-Year Plan Backs Horse Racing Tourism
Hong Kong's government has set a target of growing the value added of its tourism industry by about 46% by 2030, and for the first time formally named horse racing among the tourism products it wants to promote over the next five years.
The target appears in the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030), published on September 16.
What The Plan Sets Out
According to the plan's own tourism table, value added from tourism is projected to rise from HK$86.2 billion (about $11.1 billion) in 2024 to HK$126 billion (about $16.2 billion) by 2030, a rise of roughly 46%.
Employment in the sector is projected to grow from 159,700 people to about 203,000 over the same period, while the share of overnight visitors coming from outside mainland China is expected to reach 40% by 2030.
The plan states that Hong Kong will "foster horse-racing tourism" as part of a broader push to integrate culture, sport and tourism, alongside city walks, culinary tourism, flagship events, cruise tourism and water sports.
It also sets out plans to position Hong Kong as a hub for multi-destination trips extending into the Greater Bay Area and mainland China, with continued focus on established markets such as the United States and Canada, as well as the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The Jockey Club's Role
The plan's mention of horse racing tourism follows a proposal from the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) in July for a "Two Cities, Three Racecourses" tourism circuit linking its Sha Tin and Happy Valley racecourses with its Conghua facility across the border in Guangzhou, alongside a call to develop the Greater Bay Area into an international equine industry hub.
The government's plan supports horse-racing tourism at a policy level, though it stops short of confirming whether the HKJC's specific cross-border circuit proposal will be included in the implementation.
While You Are Here, Why Not Check Out Our: Casino Games Hub & Free Slots?
Part Of A Wider Set Of Targets
The tourism figures sit within a broader set of goals in the plan's culture, sport and tourism chapter, which also commits to a cumulative 20% increase in resources for sports development and a 20% rise in full-time elite athletes over the next five years, alongside a 10% increase in the value added of sports and related activities.
The government says it will also launch a specialised tourist guide licensing programme and work with the tourism industry and educational institutions to expand the pool of trained tourism professionals, as part of the same push to grow visitor numbers and spending through 2030.
