as of december 18, 2025, christmas 2025 is in full swing, with festive promotions and tourism recovery driving holiday spending amid ongoing economic challenges.
hong kong: strong inbound tourism from mainland china and southeast asia is providing a boost, particularly through events like the harbourfront christmas market and the recent resumption of multiple-entry visas for shenzhen residents. the hong kong tourism board reports approximately 4.2 million visitors in november (+17% yoy), putting the first 11 months of 2025 at around 45 million arrivals—already surpassing the full-year 2024 total and on track to exceed pre-pandemic levels. december is expected to see continued momentum from day-trippers and holiday travelers. retail performance remains mixed, however: while november saw a 7.3% yoy decline (hk$31.7 billion), industry observers note early december gains in categories like cosmetics, clothing, and fast food, setting the stage for a potential holiday uplift. per capita tourist spending varies widely but tends to be higher than local levels due to luxury and duty-free purchases.
singapore: local and regional demand is solid, enhanced by attractions such as christmas wonderland at gardens by the bay and year-end promotions along orchard road. the singapore tourism board projects 17–18.5 million arrivals for full-year 2025, building on steady growth (e.g., around 1.4 million in recent peak months). retail sales have shown moderate gains earlier in the year (e.g., +4.5% yoy in october), with key sectors like electronics and f&b benefiting from festive extensions of black friday deals. however, higher living costs and outbound travel by residents may temper some spending. locals typically account for the majority of retail volume, complemented by visitor contributions, with per capita visitor spending around s$800–1,000 in holiday periods..
LINKS:
hong kong census and statistics department (c&sd) official releases: https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/ and https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202512/01/p2025120100386.htm (october 2025 retail sales data, with notes on ongoing support from visitor growth).
reuters report on october retail sales and visitor support: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/hong-kong-oct-retail-sales-rise-69-sees-support-visitor-growth-2025-12-01/.
hong kong tourism board (hktb) visitor statistics: https://partnernet.hktb.com/en/research_statistics/latest_statistics/index.html and https://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/hktb/newsroom/tourism-statistics.html (monthly arrivals, including november/december trends).
additional context from trading economics: https://tradingeconomics.com/hong-kong/retail-sales-annual and https://tradingeconomics.com/hong-kong/tourist-arrivals.
singapore department of statistics (singstat) retail sales index: https://www.singstat.gov.sg/mrs (october/november 2025 data and releases).
singapore tourism board (stb) year-in-review and forecasts: https://www.stb.gov.sg/about-stb/media-publications/media-centre/singapore-achieves-historical-high-in-tourism-receipts-in-2024/ (2024 actuals and 2025 projections for arrivals and receipts).
reuters on singapore visitor arrivals: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/singapore-says-visitor-arrivals-rise-21-2024-2025-02-05/.
trading economics singapore retail and arrivals: https://tradingeconomics.com/singapore/retail-sales-annual and https://tradingeconomics.com/singapore/tourist-arrivals.