Hong Kong arrivals pass 30 million mark
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Hong Kong passed the 30 million-visitor mark last month, as arrivals to the city continue to demonstrate double-digit growth. Announced today by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), the city achieved 30.42 million arrivals in the first nine months of the year – 16.2% more than the same period in 2010. In September alone, arrivals climbed 16.8% year-on-year to 3.19 million.
Mainland China has been main growth driver in 2011, accounting for 67.0% of all arrivals. In total, 20.38 million mainland Chinese visited Hong Kong in the January-September 2011 period – 23.6% more than the same period last year. Almost all major source markets demonstrated growth however, with arrivals from South and Southeast Asia climbing 7.4% to 2.67 million and those from the Americas increasing 4.1% to 1.30 million.
Even the number of Japanese visitors increased; rising 3.2% to nearly 1.7 million despite the general downturn in travel from the country after the 11 March disasters. Arrivals from South Korea meanwhile, surged by 15.8% to almost 765,000. Taiwanese arrivals remained virtually flat however, due to the affect of more direct cross-Strait direct flights connecting the island with mainland China.