Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for August 2008

Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in August 2008 reached 2,679,092, 2.9% less than in August 2007. This brings cumulative arrivals for the first eight months of 2008 to 19,573,971, 7.3% ahead of the same period last year.

With the exception of Mainland China, long and short-haul market regions recorded drop in arrivals in August 2008, being continually affected by a combination of factors in the macro environment, such as economic downturn and the Mainland’s adjustment in visa policy. As for Mainland China, arrivals grew by 0.8% to 1,699,309, largely due to the fact that many Mainland visitors stayed home during the Olympics.

Visitor arrivals from different market regions:

• Mainland China: 1,699,309 (+0.8%)
• Taiwan: 213,552 (-0.4%)
• North Asia: 197,233 (-2.9%)
• South and Southeast Asia: 188,345 (-13.6%)
• Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific: 47,746 (-15.7%)
• The Americas: 109,931 (-15.8%)
• Europe, Africa and the Middle East: 143,928 (-20.5%)

Out of the total Mainland arrivals in August 2008, 1,079,592 or 63.5% arrived under the Individual Visit Scheme, 2.6% more than in August 2007. Cumulatively, there were 6,454,642 arrivals under the Individual Visit Scheme in the first eight months of 2008, 13.1% more than for the same period in 2007.

Some 60.4% of all visitors to Hong Kong in August stayed in the city for at least one night, 4.2 percentage points lower than for the same month last year. The remaining 39.6% same-day in-town visitors either returned home or left for another destination on the same day as arrival.

Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels in August 2008 was 85%, six percentage points lower than in August 2007. The geographic locations with the highest occupancy were Kowloon districts (other than Yau Ma Tei, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok), New Territories and the outlying islands, where hotels recorded average occupancy rate of 88%.

The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was HK$1,107, 6.2% higher than in August 2007.

See also: Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for July 2008 and other recent news regarding: Travel News Asia, Promotions, New Hotels, Hong Kong, Visitor Arrivals, August 2008