Hong Kong announces record breaking Visitor Arrival numbers for December 2003

Visitor arrival figures for December 2003 issued today by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) show that arrivals from all markets during the month totalled 1,792,698. As announced earlier, this represents 7.4% growth on the figure for December 2002 and sets a record for a single month.

The figures were boosted by an especially strong performance from Mainland China, from where arrivals passed one million in a single month for the first time, totalling 1,021,707. This breaks the previous record of 946,122 set in August 2003, and comes only 20 months after the half-million mark was first reached in April 2002.

Besides Mainland China, there were encouraging December performances from some of the long-haul markets as the industry's steady revival from SARS continues. Arrivals from Europe, Africa & the Middle East were only 0.4% down year-on-year, compared with an 8.7% shortfall in November. Arrivals from The Americas are also narrowing the gap, at 11.1% down in December compared with 17.1% decrease the previous month. In addition, Japan, while still remaining the slowest market to recover, gained further ground in December.

Many of the visitors came to enjoy the variety of activities promoted by the HKTB as part of its Hong Kong WinterFest mega-event. For the full five-week WinterFest period from 28 November to 4 January, a total of 2,179,521 arrivals was recorded, an 8.1% increase on the equivalent period in 2002/03. This comfortably exceeds the the HKTB's target of attracting two million visitors during the promotion.

In total, Hong Kong recorded 15,536,839 visitor arrivals in 2003, a 6.2% decrease on the 2002 figure due to the devastating impact of SARS on tourism worldwide between April and July when some 2.34 million fewer arrivals were recorded. Nevertheless, arrivals from the Mainland showed positive growth for 2003 of 4.1%, totalling 8,467,211.

"The early figures for January look quite encouraging, with the gap continuing to narrow in all our long-haul markets as well as Japan," said HKTB Executive Director Clara Chong. Ms Chong however, stressed it was too early to make detailed forecasts for 2004 as a number of uncertainties still existed in the market. "With the recent outbreak of Bird Flu in neighbouring countries, HKTB will closely monitor the developments and gather information on reactions from the travel trade and consumers in each market so as to adapt measures flexibly."

Ms Chong added that building on the new 'Hong Kong - Live it, Love it!' campaign, the HKTB would be rolling out a comprehensive range of integrated marketing and public relations programmes worldwide during the coming year, especially in the long-haul and family travel markets. "Our aim is to reinforce Hong Kong's reputation as a destination of unrivalled diversity and sophistication," she said.

Analysis by Markets, December 2003

The record 1.02 million arrivals from Mainland China in December represents a 35.5% increase on the December 2002 figure, which was itself a monthly record at the time. Some 228,793 of the visitors arrived under the individual visa scheme from the 10 cities where it had then come into operation. [Note: Since the beginning of January, it has been extended to a further six]

In South & Southeast Asia, India was the star performer with year-on-year growth of 19.3%, while the Philippines (-5.7%) and Thailand (-6.6%) improved on their November result. Other markets, however, showed a decrease in the face of strong regional competition and total arrivals for the region of 189,967 fell 22.1% short of the previous December's record levels.

Arrivals from North Asia improved to 130,160 (-23.3%), with Japan registering notable progress from -34.2% in November to -26.9% in December. Taiwan arrivals were 15.2% down at 173,776, due mainly to a softening of Mainland-bound traffic.

Among the long-haul markets, arrivals from Europe, Africa & the Middle East were just 0.4% down in December at 94,679, a strong advancement on the previous month's 8.7% decrease. Arrivals from The Americas are also closing the gap, recording an 11.1% decrease to 97,265. Arrivals from Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific were 13.0% down at 34,717.

Same-Day Visitors

In December 2003, 35.0% of all visitors continued to other destinations on the same day as arrival. This is the third month in a row that the percentage has declined, indicating that more visitors are extending their stay. One of the HKTB's major objectives in organising night-time focused mega-events such as Hong Kong WinterFest is to encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more. Some 79.2% of all visitors from The Americas stayed for at least one night, as did 79.1% from Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific and 77.9% from South & Southeast Asia.

Hotel Occupancy

Average occupancy rate across all categories of hotels and tourist guest houses in December was 87%, compared with 89% in December 2002. In the High Tariff B category, they reached 90%. The average achieved hotel room rate was HK$692, a 4.7% year-on-year decrease.

See also: Record 1.79 million visitors for Hong Kong in December 2003