Bangkok--9 Jun--Francom Asia
Figures released today (8 June) by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) showed that visitor arrivals in April 2009 reached 2,439,490, 0.8% more than in April 2008. This brings cumulative arrivals for the first four months of 2009 to 9,843,203, 1.5% ahead of the same period last year.
Among the different market regions, positive gain was recorded in South and Southeast Asia and in Mainland China. Out of the total Mainland arrivals, 748,727 or 53.2% arrived under the Individual Visit Scheme, 11.5% more than in the same period last year. As for other short-haul regions, both North Asia and Taiwan registered shortfall in arrivals, as the former was continually affected by the weak economy, while the latter by the cross-strait direct links.
On a similar trend, all long-haul regions continued their downward trend in April 2009 due to weakened consumer sentiments for long-distance travel as a result of the financial tsunami since the last quarter of 2008. Consequently, both The Americas and Europe, Africa and the Middle East registered double-digit decreases in arrivals. Below summarises visitor arrivals from different market regions in April 2009:
- Mainland China: 1,406,500 (+7.8%)
- South & Southeast Asia: 262,242 (+3.9%)
- Taiwan: 169,760 (-10.5%)
- North Asia: 132,031 (-19.2%)
- Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific: 66,175 (-5.3%)
- The Americas: 150,172 (-12.0%)
- Europe, Africa & the Middle East: 200,600 (-10.9%)
Overnight Vs Same-Day In-Town Visitors
Overall, some 56.7% of all visitors to Hong Kong in April stayed in the city for at least one night, 0.3 percentage point higher than in the same month last year. The remaining 43.3% same-day in-town visitors either returned home or left for another destination on the same day as arrival.
April 2009 Hotel Occupancy
Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels in April 2009 was 79%, six percentage points lower than in April 2008. The geographic locations with the highest occupancy were Yau Ma Tei/Mong Kok, where hotels recorded average occupancy rate of 83%. The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was HK$1,116, 21.6% lower than in April 2008.
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:
Walaiklao Kumwong
Francom Asia
Tel. (66) 02 233 43 29 - 30 ext. 22
Fax. (66) 02 236 80 30