Bangkok--20 Apr--Hong Kong Tourism Board
Figures released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) today (9 April) show that the Total Expenditure Associated to Inbound Tourism (TEAIT) in 2008 reached HK$158.95 billion, an increase of 11.7% over 2007. The average per capita spending of overnight visitors reached HK$5,439, 6.2% higher than the 2007 figure, while that of same-day in-town visitors surged by 20.9% to HK$1,498.
Commenting on the spending figures, HKTB Chairman Mr James Tien cautioned that notwithstanding the double-digit increase achieved last year, the global financial downturn is affecting visitors’ spending. “We registered strong gain in overnight visitors’ spending in the first quarter of 2008,” he said. “However, starting from the second half of the year, when the global financial crisis began to affect economies worldwide, visitors’ spending started to decrease, especially for those from the long-haul regions. By the last quarter, we saw negative growth in spending across different market regions, with the exception of Mainland China.
“We expect that the trend will continue into 2009,” Mr Tien continued. “According to the World Tourism Organization, international tourism will experience less and probably negative growth over the next six to nine months, and the decline in average length of stay and expenditure will be more pronounced than in overall arrivals, given that consumers will likely travel closer to home and spend less. Depending on the economic conditions, our current projection is that both TEAIT and the average per capita spending of overnight visitors will suffer decline.”
Benefiting from the strong exchange rate of the Australian dollar in the first half of 2008, overnight visitors from Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific had the highest per capita spending at HK$6,181 last year, 10.6% higher than in 2007. Those from Europe, Africa & the Middle East came second at HK$6,045. As for the Americas, overnight visitors spent an average of HK$5,760 each. For the short-haul regions, Mainland China registered the highest per capita spending at $5,676. Below summarises the per capita spending by overnight visitors from different market regions:
Market Regions Overnight Visitors
Per Capita Spending (HK$) Growth Vs 2007 %
Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific 6,181 +10.6%
Europe, Africa & the Middle East 6,045 +7.2%
The Americas 5,760 +0.3%
Mainland China 5,676 +9.3%
Taiwan 5,126 +2.2%
South & Southeast Asia 4,744 -0.6%
North Asia 4,306 +0.1%
Macau SAR 3,041 +9.7%
Among the same-day arrivals, those from Mainland China made the highest spending in 2008 — an average of HK$2,138 (+16.7%) per capita, as many made use of the convenience offered by the Individual Visit Scheme to make frequent consumption visits to Hong Kong. In contrast, per capita spending of same-day visitors from Taiwan — an average of $268 — is the lowest among all regions, as many departed for the Mainland and other destinations as soon as they arrived Hong Kong. Below summarises the per capita spending by same-day visitors from different market regions:
Market Regions Same-day In-town Visitors Per Capita Spending (HK$) Growth Vs 2007 %
Mainland China 2,138 +16.7%
Macau SAR 1,576 -5.1%
Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific 574 +12.5%
South & Southeast Asia 458 +29.7%
Europe, Africa & the Middle East 409 -1.9%
North Asia 394 +78.3%
The Americas 339 -9.1%
Taiwan 268 +17.0%
In 2008, shopping took up the largest share of spending by both overnight (57.3%) and same-day visitors (88.1%) in 2008. Meanwhile, there was significant increase in the spending on entertainment (+24.6%), especially among the short-haul visitors, including those from Mainland China, Taiwan and South & Southeast Asia, in 2008.
The TEAIT is calculated according to the methodology recommended by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The two components of TEAIT are: (1) Total Destination Consumption Expenditure — the sum of all payments made by visitors for goods and services consumed in Hong Kong, including accommodation, shopping, meals, entertainment and transport. The information is collected from HKTB’s Departing Visitors Survey; (2) Passenger International Transportation Expenditure — receipts of Hong Kong-based carriers for cross-boundary transportation of non-resident passengers by air, sea or land. The data is provided by the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government.
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:
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Ms Lisa Chan
Tel: 2807 6173
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Miss Amy Lam
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Long-haul Regions and
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Miss Mayee Tang
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