Bangkok--6 Aug--Francom Asia PR Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in the first six months of 2007 have grown by 6.8% to more than 13 million, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced today (30 July). The figure includes more than 2.03 million arrivals to the city in June, which represents a year-on-year growth of 7.7%. Arrivals from every regional source market increased in the first half of 2007 and in June. The breakdown is as follows: Market Regions January-June 2007 June 2007 The Americas 839,945 (+6.8%) 139,487 (+4.5%) Europe, Africa & the Middle East 1,031,363 (+16.1%) 148,733 (+16.6%) Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific 353,733 (+11.2%) 65,311 (+13.6%) North Asia 1,036,477 (+8.0%) 169,439 (+7.3%) South & Southeast Asia 1,315,487 (+6.1%) 253,818 (+10.6%) Taiwan 1,066,187 (+2.5%) 184,015 (+7.1%) Mainland China 7,099,715 (+5.9%) 1,019,524 (+6.3%) Total 13,029,368 (+6.8%) 2,034,354 (+7.7%) Several individual markets that showed strong growth potential last year continued their robust performance and delivered remarkable results in the first six months. These include the Philippines (+19.0%), India (+10.2%), South Korea (+18.1%), Russia (+18.4%) and the Netherlands (+10.3%). Of the almost 7.10 million Mainland visitors in the first six months of the year, more than 3.85 million or 54.3% travelled to Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). This is 21.9% more than the same period last year. As for June 2007, some 51.3% or over 522,000 Mainland arrivals travelled under the IVS, a year-on-year increase of 23.7%. More than 7.88 million or 60.5% of the total arrivals in January-June stayed in the city for at least one night, while the remaining 5.14 million (39.5%) were classified as same-day in-town visitors. The overnight and same-day arrivals for June 2007 were 1.21 million (59.5%) and 824,100 (40.5%) respectively.June and First Half of 2007 Arrivals by Markets - Arrivals from Mainland China grew by 6.3% to 1,019,524 in June, bringing the cumulative January-June arrivals to 7,099,715, 5.9% ahead of the same period last year. The number of arrivals travelling under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) reached 522,787 in June, which is 51.3% of the monthly total and 23.7% more than last June. This took cumulative January-June IVS arrivals to 3,852,705, 54.3% of visitors from the Mainland and 21.9% more than the same period last year. - Arrivals from Taiwan rose by 7.1% to 184,015 in June 2007. This took the cumulative arrivals for January-June to 1,066,187, 2.5% more than the same period in 2006. - The 253,818 arrivals from South & Southeast Asia in June represented a year-on-year increase of 10.6%. Cumulative arrivals for the region in the first six months stood at 1,315,487, 6.1% more than in 2006. The best performing individual markets in the first half of the year were the Philippines (+19.0%, 279,974), Indonesia (+15.5%, 140,145) and India (+10.2%, 160,318). These markets also performed well in June, with arrivals from the Philippines rising by 29.9%, while those from Indonesia and India increased by 24.1% and 20.3% respectively. - There were 169,439 visitors (+7.3%) from North Asia in June, which comprised 61,598 visitors from South Korea, a growth of 18.2%, and 107,841 from Japan, a slight increase of 2.0%. Cumulative arrivals for January-June numbered 1,036,477, 8.0% more than in 2006, with South Korean arrivals up by 18.1% and those from Japan by 2.7%. - The 148,733 arrivals (+16.6%) from Europe, Africa and the Middle East in June took the region’s cumulative arrivals for January-June to 1,031,363, a year-on-year increase of 16.1%. Of the major individual markets in this region, the UK was the best performer in the first six months of the year, with 293,021 arrivals (+19.9%). The Middle East region also registered significant gain of 26.6% (88,065). - Arrivals from Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific in June stood at 65,311 (+13.6%), bringing the region’s half-yearly total to 353,733 (+11.2%). As for The Americas, arrivals reached 139,487 (+4.5%) in June, taking the January-June total to 839,945 (+6.8%).June and January-June 2007 Same-Day In-Town Visitors - In June 2007, 59.5% of all visitors stayed in the city for at least one night. This is 1.8 percentage points lower than in June 2006. The remaining 40.5% were classified as same-day in-town visitors, who either returned home or left for another destination on the same day as arrival. - Some 60.5% of all visitors to Hong Kong from January to June were classified as overnight arrivals, compared with 62.0% in the same period last year. The remaining 39.5% were same-day in-town visitors.June and January-June 2007 Hotel Occupancy - Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels in June 2007 was 82%, two percentage points lower than in June 2006. - The geographic location with the highest occupancy rate in June was Yau Ma Tei/Mong Kok, where hotels recorded a rate of 88%. - The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories in June was HK$1,072, 14.0% higher than that of last June. - The average hotel occupancy for January-June 2007 is 83%, three percentage points lower than in 2006. The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories in January-June was HK$1,181, which is 12.9% higher than in the same months in 2006. Media can download the press release and the appendices from the HKTB’s DiscoverHongKong.com website via the following hyperlink: http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/worldwide/medi/ww_medi_news.jhtml Contact: Ms. Wandee Lerdsupongkit or Wipakorn Komonkitisakul Tel: 0 2233 4329-30 Fax: 0 2236 8030 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.DiscoverHongKong.com