Visitor Arrivals in First 11 Months of 2010 Already Surpass 2009 Full-Year Figure

In November only, visitor arrivals reached 3,052,390, 17.1% more than the same month last year.

The table below summarises visitor arrivals from other market areas in November along with the first 11 months in 2010:

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Since the beginning of the year, visitor arrivals to Hong Kong have continued to set new records. Arrivals from the Mainland, other short haul, along with long-haul markets have each been growing at satisfactory prices. For January-November 2010, Mainland arrivals outstripped the yearly amount of 2009 to hit 20.4 million, setting a fresh landmark of Mainland visitors. Arrivals in November also climbed up by over 20% yearon-year to 1.87 million even within the lack of long holidays during the month.

Generally Speaking, arrivals of most short-haul markets went up by over 10% and 18.6% in November and also the first 11 months of 2010 respectively. The cumulative amount for North Asia (including Japan and South Korea) increased by 22.1% to approach 2 million. The primary contributing factor to the exceptional gain was growing number of South Korean arrivals since the beginning of this year, which registered a yearon – year increase of 45% in the first 11 months. Meanwhile, the appreciation of the JPY from the US dollar also improved arrivals from Japan. In Taiwan, the HKTB has-been actively working with the travel trade to lure vacationers from the island. Because of this, overnight Taiwanese arrivals grew by 20% year-to-date, pushing overall cumulative arrivals up by 8.4%.

In South and Southeast Asia, Indian arrivals in the first 11 months leaped by a superb 47.2% yearon-year to approach 490,000. Increased knowledge of Hong Kong among Indian consumers because of the combined work of the travel trade and the HKTB, along with expanded flight capacity between India and Hong Kong, have both accelerated the growth impetus. For other Southeast Asian markets, owing to stabilising economic conditions, higher travel propensity and promotion of Hong Kong from the travel trade, arrivals from such markets as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia sustained an upward trend in both November and January – November 2010.

Notwithstanding a lower base, there is a higher inclination among inhabitants to travel away from the country during the winter. The arrangements and increased direct flights also acted as pull factors to bring more Russian visitors to Hong Kong.

In the longhaul regions, holiday and business travel continued to grow due to the recovering global market, sustaining the development of complete longhaul arrivals in November. The cumulative 11-month arrivals also registered an 11.2%-rise year-on-year. The US, Canada and important European markets, like Germany, France and Italy, have each attained growth of 10% or more.

Overnight Guests

In November 2010, more than 1.66 million overnight visitors were recorded, representing 54.4% of all visitors to Hong Kong and a 9.7%-increase versus November 2009. Most market locations experienced notable development in overnight guests, with the strongest increase from South and South-East Asia (16.4%) and North Asia (16.2%).

Source: Hong Kong Tourism Board

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