Bangkok--19 Jan--FrancomAsia
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced that the provisional total arrivals in 2008 have reached 29.5 million, representing an increase of 4.7% compared with 2007.
Below summarises the visitor arrivals from Mainland China, short- and long-haul markets:
Region Visitor Arrivals in 2008 VS. 2007
Mainland China 16.6 million + 8.8%
Short-haul Markets
(not including Mainland China) 8.2 million +2.3%
Long-haul Markets 4.7 million -3.9%
In 2008, Mainland China maintained positive gain and continued to be the leading source market. Contributing around 55% of the total arrivals, Mainland China brought the total arrivals up 4.7%. Almost all international markets were affected by the global economic slowdown and the Mainland’s visa policy adjustment since the second half of 2008, offsetting the increase in arrivals recorded in the first half of the year. This led to the narrowing of full year arrivals growth for short-haul markets while causing a single-digit drop for long-haul markets.
(Full breakdown on arrivals by markets for December 2008 and January-December 2008 will be released later this month.)
Media can download the press release with related photos of high resolution from the HKTB’s DiscoverHongKong.com website:
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/about-hktb/press-releases.html
Contact: Ms. Wandee Lerdsupongkit Tel: 0 2233 4329-30 Fax: 0 2236 8030
E-mail: [email protected] www.DiscoverHongKong.com