The Hong Kong Tourism Board visitor arrival figures released; Canadian arrivals down

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) released the final visitor arrival figures for 2009, showing that over 29 million people visited Hong Kong during that year. Most travellers came from Mainland China.

International arrivals decreased by six-and-a-half per cent with the HKTB citing economic downturns and reductions in flight capacity in some regions as factors. The end of the year, with economies improving, showed an increase from the Amercias, Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific regions.

Canadian arrivals declined by four-and-a-half per cent to 361,922 travellers for the year.

Emerging markets saw growth with increased traffic from India, Russia and the Middle East. The HKTB notes the positive growth was due to enhanced flight capacity and promotional initiatives. The visa-free access arrangement between Hong Kong and Russia, in place since July 2009, led to over 15 per cent of Russian visitors.

16.9 million visitors stayed overnight and the remaining 12.7 million were classified as “same day in town”, departing for another destination on the day of arrival.

Tourism spending is still being reviewed but is expected to exceed $22.25 billion for the year, about $776 per overnight visitor.

The average hotel occupancy rating across all categories of hotels was 78 per cent, down seven per cent from last year. Occupancy for top-tariff hotels averaged 72 per cent, also down seven per cent from last year. The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories and districts for the year was $140, down by 16.3 percent from last year.