Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for January 2009

Hong Kong visitor arrivals in January 2009 reached 2,796,099, 11% more than in January 2008.

The growth in January 2009 was driven by Mainland China, as many Mainland visitors travelled to Hong Kong for the Lunar New Year celebrations, which fell in the first month this year, as compared to February last year.

Visitor arrivals from different market regions:

• Mainland China: 1,892,336 (+31.3%)
• Taiwan: 181,764 (-3.9%)
• South & Southeast Asia: 189,423 (-7.6%)
• North Asia: 152,597 (-30.3%)
• Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific: 63,506 (-13.6%)
• Europe, Africa and the Middle East: 142,237 (-24.5%)
• The Americas: 114,427 (-25.2%)

Out of the total Mainland arrivals in January 2009, 1,211,726 or 64% arrived under the Individual Visit Scheme, 45.3% more than in January 2008.

Overnight vs Same-Day In-Town Visitors

Overall, some 57.4% of all visitors to Hong Kong in January stayed in the city for at least one night, 2.1 percentage points lower than for the same month last year. The remaining 42.6% same-day in-town visitors either returned home or left for another destination on the same day as arrival.

January 2009 Hotel Occupancy

Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels in January 2009 was 79%, eight percentage points lower than in January 2009.

The geographic locations with the highest occupancy were Yau Ma Tei / Mong Kok, where hotels recorded average an occupancy rate of 85%.

The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was HK$1,117, 10.3% lower than in January 2008.

See also: Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for 2008 and other recent news regarding: Travel News Asia, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals, January 2009, Visitor Arrivals