Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals During National Day Golden Week Holidays

Hong Kong visitor arrivals from Mainland China during the eight-day National Day Golden Week holiday period this year (1-8 October 2009) reached 590,882, 15.8% more than the figure during the period 29 September to 6 October 2008 (National Day Golden Week and the following day).

Out of the total Mainland arrivals during the Golden Week, 69% or 407,483 arrived under the Individual Visit Scheme, 17.1% more than last year. Among them, 18.5% were visits made by Shenzhen permanent residents with multiple entry visa endorsement, meaning a daily average of about 9,500 arrivals per day, which is higher than the average on normal days. The number of visitors joining group tours to Hong Kong also increased by 36.1% to 42,906.

“The increase can mainly be attributed to the slight improvement to the economic conditions. As a matter of fact, consumers’ sentiments to travel have shown no signs of decline. These were further boosted by the various attractive promotional packages rolled out by the travel trade during the Golden Week period,” he remarked. “This year, the National Day holidays coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival, resulting in an extended Golden Week. This gave visitors greater flexibility in planning their travel itineraries. In particular, those from the South China region could have a choice of visiting Hong Kong during the latter part of the holiday,” said Hong Kong Tourism Board Chairman Mr James Tien.

“While remarkable growth was recorded for the Mainland arrivals during the Golden Week period, the market conditions remain volatile,” Mr Tien added. “Building on the positive trend, we will continue to strengthen our promotions in the coming months, so that we can attract even more visitors in the fourth quarter of this year.”

To encourage visits by Mainland travellers during the Golden Week, the HKTB collaborated with the travel trade to roll out tactical promotions and travel packages in 39 cities across the country. Themed after the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the itineraries of the packages included visits to the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai and the ever-popular National Day Fireworks display.

The HKTB also collaborated with travel trade to roll out Halloween-themed packages in Shanghai and South China to appeal to the young segment, following on the encouraging response to the promotion in South China last year. In addition, leveraging on the relaxation on Taiwan travel for Mainland visitors, the HKTB joined hands with airline companies to promote multi-destination itineraries that featured Hong Kong and Taiwan in various Mainland cities, including Shanghai, Nanking, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing and Kunming.

To encourage visitors’ spending during their stay, the HKTB organised a joint promotion with China UnionPay (CUP), bundling special discounts and offers by merchants accredited under the Quality Tourism Services (QTS) scheme as well as local shopping malls.

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