2005 Hong Kong Shopping Festival sets New Records

Around 4.6 million visitors came to Hong Kong during the 2005 Hong Kong Shopping Festival, which ran from 25 June to 31 August. Organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), the 10-week Mega Event attracted overwhelming merchant participation and close to six million lucky draw entries, the latter being equivalent to HK$1.85 billion of spending, 24% more than in 2004. The promotion also enabled Hong Kong’s tourism industry to maintain its record-breaking performance. Fuelled by strong growth from long-haul markets, arrivals in July reached 2.1 million, the highest July total ever.

Performing the lucky draw ceremony today, HKTB Chairman The Hon Mrs Selina Chow, GBS, OBE, JP said that the encouraging results showcased the irresistible global appeal of Hong Kong’s shopping experience. “One of the remarkable achievements is the record performance in July, which is traditionally a low tourism season as there are relatively fewer business travellers, particularly from long-haul markets,” she remarked. “It exceeds the very high base achieved a year ago following the further extension of the Individual Visit Scheme to the entire Guangdong Province in May 2004 and then to nine other Mainland cities two months later, making it the highest July total ever.

“But above all, we’re most encouraged by the fact that the growth has spread across all regions, and particularly in the long-haul markets, demonstrating that our continued efforts in maintaining a balanced portfolio of visitors are continuing to bear fruit,” Mrs Chow added.

Driven by the extensive promotions, the long-haul market regions enjoyed an overall growth of almost 20% in July, with arrivals from Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific increasing by as much as 35% over the record performance in July 2004. The popularity of the Festival among long-haul travellers was also demonstrated by the remarkable increase in lucky draw registrations this year. Among long-haul markets, Australia recorded a 33.5% increase, while France and Germany registered 43.6% and 26.0% growth respectively. (See: Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for July 2005)

The Festival has also proven its effectiveness in attracting visitors from short-haul regions, with arrivals from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea all registering double-digit growth in July. Another market with encouraging results is Taiwan, where lucky draw registrations increased by over 50%.

As for Mainland China, while the flow of individual visitors to Hong Kong has begun to steady, the HKTB has lately identified a newly emerged visitor segment – the “consumption visit” segment. These visitors come to Hong Kong for specific consumption purposes. They tend to spend more per day, though with shorter stays, and revisit Hong Kong more often than other individual visitors. Riding on this trend, the HKTB is to develop new programmes to encourage these visitors to explore the lesser-known attractions of Hong Kong so as to fully tap the potential of the segment.

As in past years, the Festival has received enthusiastic participation citywide. This year, the Festival attracted a record 7,150 participating merchant outlets, which staged a record number of activities and programmes, such as product expo and interest classes, to provide visitors with a total experience and stimulate their spending.

In addition, the HKTB has organised a computerised Lucky Draw featuring 70 prizes that between them were worth over HK$2.2 million. This electronic draw has attracted close to six million entries, the largest-ever number for any lucky draw event in Hong Kong. 

Mrs Chow stressed that the Festival’s success was a perfect showcase of Hong Kong’s teamwork. “It exemplifies the excellent partnership and collaboration between the tourism industry, the business sector and our community, who jointly contribute to the success of this Mega Event, and ultimately the overall economy,” she said.

“As we are about to roll out our 2006 Discover Hong Kong Year promotions, we’ll continue to count on their full support in the exciting year ahead.”

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