Special offers announced in celebration of HKSAR's 29th anniversary
To celebrate the 29th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on July 1, the Government and different sectors of the community will launch a rich array of special offers and activities, covering public transport; culture, arts and leisure; as well as dining and consumption, to share with members of the public the joy of Hong Kong's return to the motherland.
For public transport, members of the public can enjoy free rides on all passenger tram routes from July 1 to 3. The MTR will give away 71 000 domestic single rides through a lucky draw on July 1 and provide Airport Express offers to holders of Child Octopus, Personalised Octopus with "Student Status" and JoyYou Cards. Moreover, free rides on several ferry routes will be offered to the public on July 1, with vouchers for certain ferry routes to be distributed in advance.
MTR, Photo source: reference image
For culture, arts and leisure, the public will be offered free admission to a number of fee-charging leisure and cultural facilities of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and to the Hong Kong Wetland Park under the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department on July 1. They can also enjoy free admission to designated exhibitions at M+ and all thematic exhibitions at the Hong Kong Palace Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District on that day. Furthermore, additional free guided tours, dining, consumption and accommodation offers will be provided from mid-June to early July by the 14 projects under the Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme.
As for dining and consumption, initially over 1 000 restaurants and merchants are expected to provide dining offers on July 1. Several public markets under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will roll out different offers. Members of the public can also enjoy a 29 per cent discount when purchasing selected products via the "Local Fresh" online store, mobile app or physical store from July 1 to 7. The Environmental Protection Department will offer double GREEN$ Points to the public who recycle at its community recycling network GREEN@COMMUNITY on July 1.
As for dining and consumption, initially over 1 000 restaurants and merchants are expected to provide dining offers on July 1. Photo source: reference image
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Jockey Club will hold the Hong Kong Reunification Raceday at Sha Tin Racecourse on July 1, during which members of the public can enter the Public Enclosures of Sha Tin and Happy Valley Racecourses for free. The Peak Tram, Ngong Ping 360, Ocean Park Hong Kong and Tai Kwun will provide ticket offers. Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong Science Park, Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, various shopping malls and department stores will roll out dining, consumption or parking offers. In addition, the Hong Kong Tourism Board will team up with industry partners to offer various dining, shopping, attractions, tours and entertainment deals.
The Government thanks various sectors for actively responding to its call by launching special offers and activities to celebrate with the public the HKSAR's 29th anniversary. Information about the offers and activities is available on the dedicated website (www.hksar29.gov.hk). Relevant government departments and organisations will announce details in due course.
The celebration of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Photo source: reference image
Quarterly business receipts indices for service industries for first quarter of 2026
Business receipts in value terms of almost all major service industries showed increases of varying magnitudes in the first quarter of 2026 when compared with the first quarter of 2025, according to the provisional figures of business receipts indices released today (June 9) by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD).
Comparing the first quarter of 2026 with the first quarter of 2025, double-digit increases were recorded in business receipts indices of the import/export trade (+33.3%), insurance (+31.0%), financing (except banking) (+19.5%), wholesale (+17.4%), retail (+12.1%) and banking (+11.7%) industries. On the other hand, the warehousing and storage industry recorded a decrease of 2.0% in business receipts index during the same period.
Analysed by service domain, business receipts index of the computer and information technology services domain increased by 103.3% year-on-year during the same period, while that of the tourism, convention and exhibition services domain also increased by 8.3% year-on-year.
On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, business receipts in value terms of many major service industries recorded increases of varying magnitudes in the first quarter of 2026 when compared with the fourth quarter of 2025. In particular, double-digit increases were recorded in business receipts indices of the insurance (+31.8%), import/export trade (+29.9%), wholesale (+16.9%) and banking (+15.4%) industries. On the other hand, business receipts index of the financing (except banking) industry decreased by 12.1% during the same period.
Analysed by service domain, comparing the first quarter of 2026 with the fourth quarter of 2025 on a seasonally adjusted basis, business receipts index of the computer and information technology services domain increased by 41.2%, whereas that of the tourism, convention and exhibition services domain decreased by 0.8%.
Commentary
A Government spokesman said that business receipts of almost all service industries increased in the first quarter of 2026 over a year earlier. In particular, the import/export trade, insurance, financing (except banking), wholesale, retail and banking industries saw double-digit growth in their business receipts.
Looking ahead, businesses of service industries in general should continue to expand. The ongoing economic expansion and notable increase in inbound visitors should provide support to various service industries. The Government will remain vigilant to the potential downside risks stemming from evolving geopolitical tensions and uncertainties in the external environment.
Further information
Table 1 presents the business receipts indices and their corresponding year-on-year rates of change in respect of selected service industries and service domains for the recent five quarters, while Table 2 shows the corresponding quarter-to-quarter rates of change in the business receipts indices for the recent five quarters based on the seasonally adjusted series.
The revised figures of business receipts indices for the first quarter of 2026 will be released at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/web_table.html?id=660-69001) on July 17, 2026.
Data for compiling the business receipts indices are mainly based on the Quarterly Survey of Service Industries conducted by the C&SD, supplemented by relevant data provided by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
A service domain differs from a service industry in that it comprises those economic activities which straddle different industries but are somehow related to a common theme. It may include all activities carried out by all companies in a service industry that is closely related to the domain. For a service industry that is less closely related, however, only a portion of the companies in the industry or even only part of the economic activities of the companies is related to the domain. Taking the tourism, convention and exhibition services domain as an example, it includes all services of convention and exhibition organisers, short-term accommodation services and services of travel agents, and some of the services (only those involving visitors as customers) of restaurants, retailers and transport operators.
The classification of service industries follows the Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification Version 2.0, which is used in various economic surveys for classifying economic units into relevant industry classes.
More detailed statistics are given in the report "Quarterly Business Receipts Indices for Service Industries, First Quarter 2026". Users can browse and download this publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080006&scode=520).
For enquiries about the business receipts indices, please contact the Business Services Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7274 or e-mail: business-receipts@censtatd.gov.hk).
Source: AI-found images
