Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals August 2006

Overall tourism arrivals to Hong Kong reached 2,358,932 in August, 11.2% more than in the same month in 2005. Cumulative arrivals from January to August stood at 16,741,787, an increase of 10.4%.

Some 1.57 million August arrivals (66.7% of the total) stayed in the city at least one night, while the remainder of over 785,000 (33.3%) were classified as same-day in-town visitors. In January-August 2006, some 10.54 million (63.0%) visitors stayed overnight, with the other 6.19 million (37.0%) leaving on the day of arrival.

Arrivals from key regional source markets were as follows:

• Mainland China: 1,364,825 visitors (an 11.8% increase)
• Taiwan: 211,867 (6.5%)
• South and Southeast Asia: 200,856 (14.4%)
• North Asia: 186,642 (16.7%)
• Europe, Africa and the Middle East: 156,695 (12.9%)
• The Americas: 121,841 (2.8%), and
• Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific: 48,505 (1.2%).

However, some individual markets showed declines in arrivals, including Thailand (-0.9%) and the United States (-0.7%).

Of the visitors from Mainland China, who represented 57.9% of the August total, 785,720 travelled under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). This was 57.6% of Mainland arrivals for the month, and 27.4% more than in August last year.

August 2006 Arrivals by Markets

The 1,364,825 arrivals from the Mainland in August took the total for the first eight months of 2006 to more than 9.26 million, a year-on-year increase of 12.3%. The number of arrivals to Hong Kong in August under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) reached 785,720, 57.6% of the total, representing 27.4% growth over August 2005. This took the cumulative January-August IVS total to more than 4.55 million, 49.2% of overall  Mainland arrivals.

The 211,867 arrivals from Taiwan in August brought the January-August total from the island to 1,472,678, a 3.8% increase.

August arrivals from South and Southeast Asia numbered 200,856, which took the total for the first eight months of 2006 to 1,652,432, representing growth of 11.0%. Individual markets in the region showing the strongest August growth were Indonesia (56.4%), the Philippines (25.9%) and Malaysia (14.1%).

North Asian arrivals in August reached 186,642. These included 118,692 visitors from Japan, a year-on-year increase of 21.0%, and 67,950 from South Korea, a rise of 9.7%. Cumulative arrivals for January-August numbered 1,307,597, 9.6% more than in 2005.

The 156,695 arrivals from Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the best-performing long-haul market region in August, took the cumulative eight-monthly total to 1,189,795, a 9.9% increase. The Americas’ 121,841 visitors took January-August arrivals to 1,049,406, up 4.4%, while Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific’s 48,505 visitors brought the eight-month total to 422,893, a 7.2% increase.

August 2006 Same-Day In-Town Visitors

Some 66.7% of all visitors to Hong Kong in August stayed in the city for at least one night, which is 0.9 of a percentage point higher than in the same month last year. The remaining 33.3% same-day in-town visitors either returned home or left for another destination on the same day as arrival.

Between January and August 2006, 63.0% of all visitors stayed for one night or more, 0.3 of a percentage point lower than in the first eight months of 2005.

August 2006 Hotel Occupancy

Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels and tourist guesthouses in August was 89%, three percentage points higher than for the same month in 2005. This is despite the fact that Hong Kong’s hotel-room supply grew by 3.4% between August 2005 and August 2006.

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

The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was HK$920, 18.3% higher than in August 2005

The average occupancy across all categories of hotels and tourist guesthouses for January-August 2006 is 86%, two percentage points higher than in 2005. The average achieved room rate across all hotel categories is HK$1,014, 16.4% higher than in the first eight months of 2005.

See also: Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for July 2006

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