Hong Kong sees record arrivals in H1
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Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong increased 14.7% in the first six months of 2011, to 19.3 million. The figure marked the highest half-yearly arrivals total ever recorded by the city. The month of June also saw robust growth, with arrivals increasing by 15.9% to 3.0 million.
Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) Chairman, James Tien said; “We are strongly encouraged that visitor arrivals to Hong Kong reached a new high in the first half of this year, with all major source markets achieving steady growth. In particular, arrivals from mainland China increased by more than 20% to over 12 million, as a result of the Individual Visit Scheme policy and the positive economic environment, which have largely boosted consumers’ propensity for spending and outbound travel. While Mainland China was the leading growth driver, short-haul markets also attained satisfactory performance, with South Korea and various Southeast Asian markets recording double-digit growth. There was also sustained growth in overnight arrivals from Taiwan, despite further expansion of the cross-strait direct links, causing total arrivals from the island to remain at about the same level as last year.
“Looking into the second half of the year, we expect the growth momentum to continue. We have already lined up a series of mega events and promotions to enhance Hong Kong’s appeal and stimulate consumers’ desire to visit the city. Meanwhile, we are also closely monitoring the development of the European and American financial markets, which might impact the global economy and tourism. We will continue our flexible approach and adapt our marketing strategies in the light of the latest market trends,” Tien added.
Mainland China remained the leading source market for Hong Kong, with arrivals increasing 21.1% to 12.7 million, or 65.7% of the total. Of these, overnight arrivals went up by 11.8% to 6.13 million. Meanwhile 64.5%, or close to 8.2 million, came under the Individual Visit Scheme – 28.6% more than the same period last year.
Arrivals from short-haul markets exceeded 3.9 million in the first half of 2011, 4.0% more than the same period last year. South Korean visitors rose by 18.6% to close to half a million. Increased flights to Hong Kong from Southeast Asia helped boost half-yearly arrivals from the region by 9.3% to around 1.5 million. Cumulative arrivals from Taiwan declined a marginal 0.2% to 1.05 million, due to the impact of more cross-Strait flights now available between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. Visitation from Japan declined 6.9% to slightly below 600,000 in the first half of the year.
Overall arrivals from long-haul increased 3.0% to more than 2.3 million in the first six months, with growth led by the Americas (+6.0%). Arrivals from Russia were up by more than 50% in the first six months of the year, reaching nearly 60,000.
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