Bangkok--3 Nov--Francom Asia
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced that a total of 2,728,107 visitor arrivals to Hong Kong were recorded in September 2010, 21.2% more than the previous September. Cumulatively, arrivals in the first three quarters of 2010 reached 26,175,950, which is a 23.7%-increase year-on-year.
The table below summarises visitor arrivals from different market regions in September and the first three quarters in 2010:
*Total figure includes arrivals from Macau SAR
In September 2010, Mainland arrivals increased by 22.7% to more than 1.62 million, driving further gain in overall visitor arrivals. Such momentum of growth, which sustained after the summer holidays, showed that since the implementation of measures under the Individual Visit Scheme in Shenzhen, Mainland visitors no longer travel to Hong Kong only during the peak travel seasons and festive holidays, but that they also come for consumption visits over the weekends.
For short-haul markets, expanded flight capacity between Hong Kong and South and Southeast Asia brought along remarkable growth in arrivals from these markets, which increased by 20.3% compared to September 2009. As for North Asia, appreciation of the WON currency continued to stimulate travel among South Koreans, causing arrivals from the country to more than double (+106.9%) and overall arrivals from North Asia to rise by 20.4% year-on-year. Arrivals from Taiwan also grew by 14.8%, reflecting an increasing number of vacation travellers from the island.
Further away, double-digit growth was registered in all three regional long-haul markets, with a satisfactory increase of 18.5% in overall long-haul arrivals. In particular, North American arrivals went up by more than 20%, indicating a growing number of both business and vacation travellers as the economy stabilises.
For emerging markets, benefitting from such favourable factors as economic improvements and expanded flight capacity, continual growth was registered in arrivals from Russia (+107.2%) and the Middle East (+31.7%). In India, the country’s fast-growing economy has led to strong demand for outbound travel, especially among both family and business segments, causing overall arrivals to Hong Kong to increase by 27.7% in September 2010.
September January to September
Market Regions 2010 Vs. 2009 2010 Vs. 2009
Long-haul markets 378,786 +18.5% 3,355,843 +11.1%
The Americas 138,108 +23.2% 1,253,097 +11.8%
Europe, Africa and the Middle East 164,780 +14.9% 1,544,708 +11.0%
Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific 75,898 +18.3% 558,038 +10.2%
Short-haul markets (excl. Mainland China & Macau) 666,676 +18.9% 5,771,975 +20.1%
North Asia 194,557 +20.4% 1,643,042 +22.6%
South and Southeast Asia 302,116 +20.3% 2,489,954 +25.8%
Taiwan 170,003 +14.8% 1,638,979 +10.2%
Mainland China 1,626,556 +22.7% 16,495,405 +28.1%
Total* 2,728,107 +21.2% 26,175,950 +23.7%
Overnight Visitors
In September 2010, overnight visitor arrivals to Hong Kong totalled 1.44 million, representing 53.0% of the total arrival figure and a 17.6% increase from the 2009 figure. Most key market regions, especially Taiwan (+28.4%) and the Americas (+26.4%), showed prominent growth in overnight visitor arrivals.
For the first three quarters of 2010, overnight visitor arrivals cumulated to 14.71 million. This number represents 56.2% of all visitor arrivals in the same period and is 21.8% more than the figure last year.
Note:
Visitor arrivals mentioned in this release include both overnight visitors and same-day in-town visitors. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), visitors are divided into two categories:
(i) tourists or overnight visitors, if the trip involves an overnight stay; and
(ii) same-day visitors or excursionists, if the trip does not involve an overnight stay.
Media can download the press release from the HKTB’s DiscoverHongKong.com website:
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/about-hktb/press-releases.html
For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms. Wandee Lerdsupongkit
HKTB Press Information Center
C/O Francom Asia Ltd.
Tel. 02233 4329/30
Fax 02236 8030
Email:
[email protected]