ARRIVALS STAY ON FORECAST AT HALF-YEAR STAGE AFTER 10% GROWTH IN JUNE

Boosted by growth of 20.7% in the number of visitors from Mainland China, and with South Korea, Thailand and India also performing strongly, arrivals in Hong Kong grew 10.0% in June compared with the same month in 2000, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced today (2 August).

The healthy June performance means that for the first six months of 2001, a total of 6,649,716 visitors have been welcomed to Hong Kong, an increase of 7.5% on the same period last year. This figure remains closely in line with HKTB’s forecast growth of 7.8% for 2001 as a whole.

June 2001 Analysis by Markets

Besides the Mainland, with 337,137 arrivals, the Taiwan market also saw encouraging growth in June, its 206,341 visitors representing an 8.2% increase on the same month in 2000. Last week’s announcement of the “iPermit” visa system for Taiwan residents early next year is expected to give further stimulus to this market in 2002.

Mainland arrivals in June were boosted by a number of low cost air/hotel packages offered by CTS, CITS and other travel agencies, while the Taiwan market continued to benefit from HKTB’s promotion of the Miss Saigon show in Hong Kong, as well as the long weekend travel opportunity offered by the Tuen Ng Festival.

More modest regional increases were registered by South & Southeast Asia (151,925,+6.5%), North Asia (144,841, +5.2%), The Americas (110,044, +3.2%) and Europe, Africa & the Middle East (80,689, +1.6%). A drop of 7.8%, however, was recorded in arrivals from Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific (31,504).

In terms of percentage growth, India was the best performing country, with arrivals increasing by 31.0% to 15,492. The growing trade relationship between China and India continues to bring more business people to the Mainland via Hong Kong, while increased air capacity and tour packaging are also making leisure travel more affordable for Indian visitors. At the same time, consumer awareness of Hong Kong as a destination has been heightened by a recent joint McDonald’s/Cathay Pacific family promotion.

Arrivals from Thailand increased 30.1% to 19,081, due in part to some attractive Hong Kong/Mainland packages offered by Cathay Pacific and Miramar Tours, as well as Star Cruises fly/cruise packages centred on Hong Kong. Most other South & Southeast Asia source markets, however, showed little or no growth in June, especially Indonesia and the Philippines which continue to be affected by economic and political uncertainties.

In North Asia, South Korean arrivals showed strong growth of 24.5% to 34,135, with more business traffic being attracted by the Asian Fashion Jewellery & Accessories Fair and more leisure visitors by the HKTB’s joint promotional campaigns with Korean Air and Ocean Park. Arrivals from Japan, on the other hand, grew only 0.4% to 110,706, although the comparison base was unusually high due to a 26.5% surge in June 2000.

In the long-haul markets, European growth was spearheaded by Germany (12,712, +3.7%), where earlier-than-usual school holidays and attractive Hong Kong/ Mainland and Hong Kong/Australia packages stimulated traffic. The United States (87,511, +2.8%) and Canada (16,630, +1.8%) both showed only modest growth.

Attractive Hong Kong fares and stopovers offered by Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand helped arrivals from New Zealand grow 3.6% to 5,220, with the latter airline promoting Hong Kong as a preferred destination. Australian arrivals, in contrast, showed a 9.6% drop to 25,890.

January to June 2001 Analysis by Markets

Mainland China was also Hong Kong’s best performing market for the first half of 2001 overall, showing 11.3% growth to 2,014,407 visitors, compared with the same period in 2000. Other markets showing growth for the first six months were North Asia (+9.9%), Taiwan (+6.8%), The Americas (+6.4%) and South & Southeast Asia (+2.2%). India (+24.7%), South Korea (+19.3%) and Thailand (+18.8%) were the strongest performing individual markets by percentage growth.

Length of Stay

During June, 63.3% of visitors in June stayed for one night or longer, compared with 66.0% in June 2000. The cumulative figure for the first six months of 2001 is 64.6% (2000: 67.9%). Taiwan visitors remain the shortest stayers, with only 24.5% staying overnight in June. In contrast, 83.8% of all visitors from The Americas and 81.1% of those from South & Southeast Asia did so.

Hotel Occupancy

Average hotel occupancy across all categories in June was 76% (2000: 80%), while for the first six months of 2001 it was 78% (2000: 82%). These figures, however, should be viewed in the context of a 2.5% increase in the daily average number of rooms available for sale (35,506 for January to June 2001).

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The Hong Kong Tourism Board was formerly known as the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA). The change took effect from 1 April 2001 and reflects a change to the tourism body’s constitutional structure. Its primary responsibilities for marketing and promoting Hong Kong as a destination worldwide, and for providing visitors with assistance when they arrive, r emain unchanged.


Including arrivals of non-Macau residents from Macau