Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for July 2006

Overall tourism arrivals to Hong Kong reached 2,185,610 in July 2006, 5.7% more than in the same month in 2005. Cumulative arrivals from January to July stood at 14,382,855 million, a 10.3% year-on-year increase.

Some 1.40 million July arrivals (64.5% of the total) stayed in the city at least one night, with the remainder of more than 775,000 (35.5%) classified as same-day in-town visitors. In the first seven months of the year, some 8.97 million (62.4%) visitors stayed overnight, while 5.40 million (37.6%) departed on the day of arrival.

Key regional source markets performed as follows:

• Mainland China, 1,196,987 million visitors (up by 4.4%)
• Taiwan, 221,001 (8.6%)
• South and Southeast Asia, 212,257 (8%)
• North Asia, 161,508 (7.7%)
• Europe, Africa and the Middle East, 144,481 (7.5%)
• The Americas, 140,842 (4.4%), and
• Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, 56,273 (0.5%).

However, some individual markets showed declines in arrivals, including Thailand (-6.2%), Germany (-5.8%) and Singapore (-4.1%). 

Of the more than 1.19 million Mainland visitors, who represented 54.8% of the July total, over 611,844 travelled under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). This is 51.1% of Mainland arrivals for the month, and 15.9% more than in July last year.

July 2006 Arrivals by Markets

The 1,196,987 arrivals from the Mainland in July took the total for the first seven months of 2006 to more than 7.90 million, a year-on-year increase of 12.4%. The number of arrivals to Hong Kong in July under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) reached 611,844, 51.1% of the total, representing 15.9% growth over July 2005. This took the cumulative January-July IVS total to more than 3.77 million, 47.7% of overall Mainland arrivals.

The 221,001 arrivals from Taiwan in July brought the January-July total from the island to 1,260,811, a 3.4% increase.

July arrivals from South and Southeast Asia in July numbered 212,257, which took the total for the first seven months of 2006 to 1,451,576, representing growth of 10.5%. Individual markets in the region that showed the strongest July growth were Indonesia (48%) and the Philippines (10.4%).

North Asian arrivals in July reached 161,508 and included 101,269 visitors from Japan, a year-on-year increase of 10%, and 60,239 from South Korea, a rise of 3.9%. Cumulative arrivals for January-July numbered 1,120,955, 8.5% more than in 2005.

The 144,481 arrivals from Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the best-performing long-haul market region in July, took the cumulative seven-monthly total to 1,033,100, a 9.4% increase. The Americas’ 140,842 visitors took January-July arrivals to 927,565, up 4.6%, with Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific’s 56,273 visitors bringing the seven-month total to 374,388, an 8.1% increase.

July 2006 Same-Day In-Town Visitors

Some 64.5% of all visitors to Hong Kong in July stayed in the city for at least one night, which is identical to the same month last year. The remaining 35.5% same-day in-town visitors either returned home or left for another destination on the same day as arrival. 

Between January and July 2006, 62.4% of all visitors stayed for one night or more, 0.5 of a percentage point lower than in the first seven months of 2005.

July 2006 Hotel Occupancy

Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels and tourist guesthouses in July was 88%, one percentage point higher than for the same month in 2005. This is despite the fact that Hong Kong’s hotel-room supply grew by 3.5% between July 2005 and July 2006.

The geographic location with the highest occupancy in July was, as normal, Yau Ma Tei/Mong Kok, where hotels recorded a rate of 93%.

The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was HK$918, 15.7% higher than in July 2005.

The average occupancy across all categories of hotels and tourist guesthouses for January-July 2006 is 86%, two percentage points higher than in 2005. The average achieved room rate across all hotel categories is HK$1,028, 16.1% higher than in the first seven months of 2005.

See also: Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for June 2006

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