Hong Kongers taking advantage of easy travel to Shenzhen and its cheaper attractions are boosting the Mainland city’s retail property market, however tourism in the other direction is not proving as lucrative.

While Hong Kong tourists travel north to take advantage of cheaper hotels and restaurants, Mainland tourists arriving from Shenzhen are more inclined to take short trips and focus on sightseeing rather than shopping and restaurants. Shenzhen has now overtaken Macau as the most popular weekend destination for Hong Kong residents.

Retail vacancy rates in Shenzhen fell to their lowest level since 2020 in the first quarter of this year. Savills Research data show a 1.8 percentage point year on year fall to 6.8%, however rents continue to fall, down 2.4% year-on-year.

“Shenzhen’s retail property market continues to benefit from supportive policies, demographic advantages and Hongkongers’ “Go North to Spend” campaign,” says Carlby Xie, Director, Southern China Research at Savills.

Shenzhen retail (and the wider real estate market) is also benefiting from a growing population, up 1.1% last year to 17.99 million. This is the fastest population growth in the Greater Bay Area. Additionally, central government initiatives to increase consumption will support the retail sector in the face of a weaker national economy.

While visitors from within China make up the majority of Shenzhen tourists, a rising number are coming from further afield, boosted by visa-free travel for many tourists. For example, 556,000 international tourists flew in to Shenzhen’s Bao’an Airport in 2024, a rise of 115%.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, retail sales slumped 6.5% in the first quarter, despite visitor arrivals rising to 12.2 million. Retail rents fell 3.5% in the quarter. However, there were positive signs; the number of visitors from outside China rose 18% in the first quarter to 2.98 million. Overseas visitors tend to stay longer and spend more.

The Chinese government is also expected to increase the number of Mainland residents who can get multi-entry visas to Hong Kong, opening up the city to people living in Shanghai and Beijing for example. Visitors from these cities would be more likely to stay longer than tourists from Shenzhen.

Furthermore, the city’s drive to host major events seems to be working, with a successful Hong Kong Sevens tournament and four sellout concerts by rock band Coldplay. Large scale events are intended to attract visitors from around the Asia Pacific region, as well as enticing residents to spend more time and money in Hong Kong.

Further reading:
Shenzhen Retail Q1/2025

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Carlby Xie