HKTB announces 2009 tourist arrivals
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The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced today (4 January) that the provisional total arrivals in 2009 have reached 29.59 million. The figure represents an increase of 0.3% over 2008 and is ahead of HKTB’s original forecast of a 1.6%-shortfall in 2009.
HKTB Chairman Mr James Tien said that the HKTB is strongly encouraged by the year-end results. “Notwithstanding the serious challenges in 2009, our tourism industry achieved better-than-expected results, thanks to the concerted effort and tremendous support of our industry partners.
“During the first half of 2009, our tourism performance was severely impacted by the global financial crisis that emerged since the third quarter of 2008 and the outbreak of human swine influenza in May 2009,” Mr Tien explained. “However, starting from the third quarter of 2009, visitors’ concern about the outbreak gradually subsided while the economic conditions also improved. Simultaneously, the HKTB adapted its strategies flexibly and collaborated with the travel trade to step up its promotions. As a result, the negative arrival trend reversed in August and positive growth was sustained until the fourth quarter. In particular, the implementation of arrangements that facilitate multiple individual visits by permanent Shenzhen residents, as well as greater desire for outbound travel among Mainland visitors, have fuelled robust growth of the Mainland arrivals, contributing to the 0.3% gain in overall arrivals in 2009.”
Below summarises the visitor arrivals from Mainland China, short- and long-haul markets:
Region
Visitor Arrivals in 2009
VS. 2008
Mainland China
17.69 million
+6.5%
Short-haul Markets
(not including Mainland China)
7.49 million
-8.6%
Long-haul Markets
4.41 million
-6.1%
(Full breakdown on arrivals by markets for December 2009 and January-December 2009 will be released later this month.)
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