The Tourism Board on Monday said tourists made nearly 3.4 million trips to Hong Kong in May, a 20 percent increase from a year ago.

It said initial figures show that some 2.6 million trips were made by mainlanders, which was a 15 percent rise.

Trips by travellers from outside the mainland jumped by some 43 percent, to more than 771,000.

"Cumulatively, a total of 18 million visitors arrived in Hong Kong from January to May this year, increasing by 80 percent from the same period last year," the board said in a statement.

The border between Hong Kong and the mainland fully reopened in early February last year.

Meanwhile, the DAB said Hong Kong can consider making use of its culture of martial arts novels and TV series to attract tourists, together with fellow Greater Bay Area cities like Macau.

Party vice-chairman Holden Chow told reporters the SAR can think about hosting activities around "intangible assets", like novels written by the late Jin Yong.

He said they are still very attractive to many people around the world, including those from South East Asia.