HK arrivals continue to hold steady
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Figures released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) have shown that 2009 has not suffered any downturn in total visitor arrivals. Arrivals for April 2009 reached 2,439,490 – 0.8% more than in April 2008. This brings cumulative arrivals for the first four months of 2009 to 9,843,203 – 1.5% ahead of the same period last year. However the results for April continued to show considerable regional disparities, with the economic slowdown highlighting the growing trend away from long-haul travel.
Positive gains were recorded in South and Southeast Asia and in mainland China inbound markets. HK saw 1,406,500 visitors from the mainland in April - a 7.8% increase year-on-year. South and Southeast Asia arrivals recorded a 3.9% rise, to 262,242. All long-haul regions however, continued their downward trend in April 2009. Both the Americas and EMEA regions registered double-digit decreases in arrivals.
The hospitality industry continued to suffer from the shortfall in long-haul international visitors. Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels in April 2009 was 79%, six percentage points lower than in April 2008. The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was HK$1,116 (US$144), 21.6% lower than in April 2008.
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