The government on Wednesday said that Hong Kong saw 44.5 million tourist arrivals in 2024, in part boosted by Beijing's relaxation of visa rules for Shenzhen residents.

Tourism minister Rosanna Law said the figure represented a near one-third increase from the year before, and was in line with estimates.

Since the start of December, Shenzhen residents with the visas have been allowed to visit the SAR for as many times as they like, compared to a previous restriction of one trip per week.

Law said last month, there were more than 3.1 million mainland visitor arrivals, or an average of more than 100,000 a day.

That was a 17-percent rise from the daily average in November.

"The government will make good use of the various measures benefiting Hong Kong to promote the all-round development of Hong Kong’s tourism industry," the minister said in a written reply to the legislature.

She said officials will maintain communication with different ministries of the central government, with a view to enable more travellers from the mainland to visit the SAR in a flexible and convenient manner.

The Tourism Board, meanwhile, noted that for the annual number of visitors, more than 10 million were from places outside the mainland, representing a 44 percent jump year on year.

It noted that out of the 44.5 million arrivals, half of them spent at least one night in Hong Kong, and they stay for around three nights here on average.

DAB lawmaker Brave Chan asked if the government would get the United Nation's culture agency, Unesco, to include Hong Kong on its list of "World Cities of Gastronomy".

Law said there are now 50 such cities, with Macau, Chengdu, Shunde, Yangzhou, Huaian and Chaozhou the six Chinese places on the list.

She said officials will study the matter with reference to the experience of cities on the list.