Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for May 2009

Hong Kong visitor arrivals in May 2009 fell by 13.4% year-on-year to 2,027,572. (see also: Hong Kong visitor arrivals for May 2008)

In May 2009, total arrivals from the short-haul regions decreased by 14.3%. The impact of swine flu related issues such as catching it and / or being quarantined was particularly pronounced in arrivals from North Asia and South and Southeast Asia, while in Taiwan, other than the human swine flu, the cross-strait direct links continued to affect arrivals. This is of course, in addition to the global economic downturn which is also affecting travel.

For Mainland China, both individual and group tour visitors decreased during the month, leading to a drop of 9.6% in overall arrivals.

As for the long-haul regions, visitor arrivals decreased by 9.5% during the month, as the demand for long-distance travel remained weak, mainly due to the poor economy and consumer sentiment.

January to May 2009 Visitor Arrivals

For the five-month period from January to May 2009, total visitor arrivals to Hong Kong stood at 11,870,775, 1.4% lower than the same period last year. Notwithstanding the decline in May, Mainland China continued to enjoy positive gain of 7.4% in its arrivals year-to-date.

Summary of visitor arrivals from different market regions in May and in the period of January to May 2009:

   Overnight vs. Same-Day, in-Town Visitors

Overall, some 56.7% of all visitors to Hong Kong in May stayed in the city for at least one night, 1.7 percentage points lower 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 they arrived.

From January to May 2009, close to 6.83 million or 57.5% of total arrivals stayed in the city for at least one night, compared with 58.2% in the same period last year. The remaining 5.04 million (42.5%) were classified as same-day in-town visitors.

Hotel Occupancy

Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels in May 2009 was 64%, 17 percentage points lower than in May 2008. The geographic locations with the highest occupancy were Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok, where hotels recorded an average occupancy rate of 71%. The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was HK$973, 14.6% lower than in May 2008.

From January to May 2009, hotel occupancy across all categories of hotel was 76%, as compared with 84% in the same months of last year. The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was HK$1,051, 16.6% below that of the same period in 2008.

See also: Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for April 2009

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