Hong Kong Tourism Spending Hits HK$162 Billion

The total expenditure associated to inbound tourism to Hong Kong (TEAIT) increased by 3.2% year-on-year to HK$162.89 billion in 2009, despite the impact of the global economic downturn. On average, the spending by overnight visitors increased by 6.1% to HK$5,770 per capita, while that of same-day in-town visitors soared by 20% to HK$1,798 per capita.

Hong Kong Tourism Bureau Chairman Mr James Tien said that the increase in tourism expenditure was highly encouraging given the challenging environment last year. “The key driver was the greater number of Mainland visitors and their higher spending, as led by the Mainland’s robust economic growth and the implementation of measures to facilitate individual visits by Shenzhen residents. Indeed, Mainland visitors have become the highest spenders among all markets, contributing HK$83.47 billion or about 70% of our total visitor spending.

“While there was decline in visitors’ spending in other market regions as a result of the global economic downturn, we expect the situation will improve this year along with the continued recovery of the global economy and better travel sentiments in major source markets, giving a further boost to the total tourism receipts this year.”

In terms of the per capita spending, both overnight and same-day visitors from the Mainland China enjoyed double-digit growth.

Also notable was the growth in per capita spending of same-day visitors from other long- and short-haul market regions. The growth reflects an increasing trend for same-day visitors to visit Hong Kong for vacation purposes, who tend to make brief stops in the city and spend before or after visiting Mainland China or other destinations. Below summarises the per capita spending by overnight and same-day visitors from different market regions:

Market Regions -  Overnight - Visitors HK$
(Change Vs 2008) Same-day Visitors HK$ (Change Vs 2008)
Mainland China 6,620(+16.6%) 2,352 (+10.0%)
The Americas 4,914 (-14.7%) 476 (+40.4%)
Europe, Africa & the Middle East 5,127 (-15.2%) 567 (+38.6%)
Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific 5,330 (-13.8%) 560 (-2.4%)
North Asia 3,893 (-9.6%) 444 (+12.7%)
South & Southeast Asia 4,460 (-6.0%) 706 (+54.1%)
Taiwan 5,117 (-0.2%) 568 (+111.9%)

In 2009, shopping continued to be the largest share of spending among both overnight (63.6%) and same-day (88.4%) visitors, with the total spending on shopping increased by 17.3% to HK$82.12 billion. The proportion was even higher for overnight and same-day visitors from Mainland China, which reached 76.3% and 91.4% respectively. 

See also: Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals

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