SURVEY REVEALS HIGH SPENDING OF U.S. NAVY CREWS AS JOHN C STENNIS CALLS ON HONG KONG

Visiting US Navy crews contribute some of the highest spending of all visitors to Hong Kong, a recent survey by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has revealed, with a typical fleet call producing more than HK$30 million in revenue for local shops, restaurants, bars and hotels.

This timely news comes as the aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis and its battle support group arrives in Hong Kong tomorrow (30 November) on a port call before heading to the Arabian Sea to support the campaign against terrorism in Afghanistan. Over the next few weeks, some 10,000 crew will be taking their well earned “rest and recreation” in Hong Kong.

The last aircraft carrier was in port for five days in August. The USS Constellation, one of the largest vessels in the US Navy fleet, brought 6,500 crew in its battle group. Being the first aircraft carrier to visit for some time, it gave the HKTB an opportunity to extend its research into crew members’ profiles and spending and to provide up-to-the-minute information on attractions and discounts to the battle group to gain a better perspective on their interests.

In 2000, servicemen and women spent HK$134.09 million, up 300% on 1999. HKTB Executive Director Clara Chong said that although the economic benefit of naval visits had long been recognised, limited research had previously been undertaken into the nature of crew spending. “We know they are big spenders, but we wanted to learn more,” she explained.

An ad hoc profile research exercise was conducted by the HKTB on 24 August in the Fleet Arcade at Fenwick Pier.

“Our researchers interviewed 300 crew from the USS Constellation battle group, representing a cross section of age groups and ranks, to ascertain their interests, activities and shopping behaviour,” Ms Chong said. “This information is proving very useful to our business partners in their product planning and in customising activities to make these port calls more rewarding.”

Of the respondents, the median age was early 20s and about 10% were women, with 52% being single and 35% married with children. More than 91% of the USS Constellation battle group respondents said they were satisfied with Hong Kong’s attractions, 94.4% with shopping, 90% with the level of hospitality afforded by Hong Kong people and 95% on the overall experience.

Just under 80% of servicemen and women surveyed said they preferred independent exploration to organised tours, meaning effective provision of information on sightseeing itineraries, theme shopping and entertainment was of high importance. Their most popular activities were sightseeing (79%); shopping (71%); and nightlife (45%). Food preferences were Chinese seafood (57%); Western gourmet (39%); Cantonese (37%) and Japanese (32%), with the most popular dining establishments being restaurants and bars (63%).

Spending on shopping contributed to 61% of total spending. Items most purchased were souvenirs (78%), being the most popular item across all ages and profiles, representing 27% of all shopping expenditure; electrical goods (59%); clothing (53%) and jewellery (33%).

It was worth noting, Ms Chong said, that around 15% of personnel chose to stay in commercial accommodation while on shore leave and some 8% were accompanied by friends or relatives, in all cases flown in to join them on vacation.

“In essence, this means that each crew member is worth 1.2 visitors to Hong Kong,” she observed.

Also noteworthy was the fact that older crew members — generally those of officer rank — used high quality hotels when they chose to stay in commercial premises, spending an average of HK$4,017 on accommodation per visit. On the other hand, younger members spent more on shopping and entertainment. Plans to revisit for a vacation were high on the agenda, with 94% indicating their intention and 84% bringing family and friends along to share their experiences.

Ms Chong said that comparative surveys of all visitors to Hong Kong showed that those from the United States remained the highest spenders at an average HK$5,572 per capita for the period January to September 2001, 13.5% more than in the same period in 2000. “Our survey of the USS Constellation crews confirmed that US naval personnel have relatively high per capita spending, which at HK$6,300 is 13% higher than that of the average visitor from North America,” she said.

“It is clear from these statistics that visiting ships are great contributors to Hong Kong’s economy. The 7,000 or more crew in town over the next five days will spend around HK$40 million alone in shops, restaurants, bars and hotels.”