Bangkok--1 Nov--Francom Asia Hong Kong welcomed 2,120,835 visitor arrivals in September 2007, an increase of 15.9% over the same month in 2006, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced today (29 October). This raised cumulative arrivals for January-September 2007 to 20,363,764, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%. All long- and short-haul market regions achieved notable gains, with Mainland China enjoying the greatest increase in arrivals. Double-digit growth was also registered in Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific and in Europe, Africa & the Middle East, as shown below: Mainland China: 1,136,325 (+22.1%) Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific: 73,573 (+18.8%) Europe, Africa & the Middle East: 167,090 (+10.2%) The Americas: 130,979 (+8.7%) North Asia: 183,503 (+8.7%) Taiwan: 180,339 (+8.5%) South & Southeast Asia: 202,080 (+7.1%) As for the individual source markets, the growth trend of several long-haul markets remained strong. These included Canada (+26.2%), the UK (+16.3%), France (+12.4%), Australia (+16.5%) and New Zealand (+32.3%), which consistently registered double-digit increases in the past few months. Meanwhile, South Korea (+28.4%) and the Philippines (+23.4%) remained the star performers among the short-haul markets. In September, there were more than 1.23 million overnight visitor arrivals (58.3% of the total), with the remainder of almost 885,000 (41.7%) classified as same-day in-town visitors. Out of the total arrivals for January-September 2007, more than 12.45 million or 61.2% stayed in the city for at least one night, while those who left on the same day of arrival exceeded 7.9 million (38.8%). September 2007 Overall Arrival Statistics Overall visitor arrivals to Hong Kong numbered 2,120,835 in September, a year-on-year increase of 15.9%. Cumulative arrivals for January to September stood at 20,363,764, a growth of 9.6% compared with the same period in 2006. September 2007 Arrivals by Markets Arrivals from Mainland China grew by 22.1% to 1,136,325 in September, bringing the cumulative January-September arrivals to 11,312,149, 10.9% ahead of the same period last year. Of the Mainland arrivals in September, 579,826 or 51.0% travelled under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS), a year-on-year increase of 35.8%. This took the cumulative IVS arrivals in January-September 2007 to more than 6.28 million, which represents 55.6% of visitors from the Mainland and growth of 26.1%. Arrivals from Taiwan reached 180,339 in September, an increase of 8.5%. This brought the January-September cumulative total from the island to 1,674,265, a rise of 2.2%. Arrivals from South & Southeast Asia in September numbered 202,080, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%. The Philippines was again the strongest individual market in the region, with growth of 23.4%, followed by Malaysia (+16.2%). The region’s January-September total stood at 1,964,854, an increase of 6.7%. There were 183,503 visitors from North Asia in September, an increase of 8.7%. Out of this figure, 117,006 were from Japan, while 66,497 (+28.4%) came from South Korea. Cumulative January-September arrivals stood at 1,603,135, 8.6% more than in 2006, with arrivals from Japan up by 1.4% and those from South Korea by 22.1%. Arrivals from Europe, Africa and the Middle East reached 167,090 in September, a year-on-year increase of 10.2%. Among the individual markets in this region, the UK (44,284, +16.3%) and France (17,253, +12.4%) registered double-digit increases. The cumulative nine-month arrivals numbered 1,549,614, a 15.5% increase. Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific delivered 73,573 arrivals, 18.8% more than that of last September. Both Australia (61,168 +16.5%) and New Zealand (11,834 +32.3%) showed strong gain. The cumulative nine-month arrivals for the region reached 547,825, 13.0% ahead of the same period of 2006. The Americas also achieved healthy growth in September, with arrivals increasing by 8.7% to 130,979. Canada sustained its strong growth at 26.2%, while arrivals from South & Central America increased by 17.2%. This took overall arrivals from the region in the first nine months of 2007 to 1,253,424, 7.1% more than in the same period in 2006.September 2007 Same-Day In-Town Visitors Some 58.3% of all visitors to Hong Kong in September stayed in the city for at least one night, 2.0 percentage points lower than for the same month last year. The remaining 41.7% same-day in-town visitors either returned home or left for another destination on the same day as arrival. Between January and September 2007, 61.2% of all visitors stayed one night or more, 1.5 percentage points lower than for the first nine months of 2006. September 2007 Hotel Occupancy The average occupancy across all categories of hotels in September was 81%, one percentage point lower than in September 2006. The geographic locations with the highest occupancies in September were Yau Ma Tei / Mong Kok, where hotels recorded rates of 86%. The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories for the month was HK$1,267, 11.9% higher than in September 2006. The average occupancy across all categories of hotels for January-September 2007 was 85%, one percentage point lower than in the same period in 2006. The average achieved room rate across all hotel categories was HK$1,157, 12.6% higher than in the first nine months of 2006.