HONG KONG'S VISITOR ARRIVALS IN MARCH 2006 REACH 2.1 MILLION

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has just announced that, in the month of March, visitor arrivals in Hong Kong passed the 2.1 million mark, a 14.8% increase over the same month in 2005.  This figure takes the cumulative total for the first three months of 2006 above the 6.2 million mark, a 13.8% increase over the first three months of 2005.

Of the March arrivals, 61.2% were classified as overnight visitors, with the remaining 38.8% as same-day arrivals. This high percentage of same-day, in-town visitors reflects both Hong Kong's status as the region's leading aviation hub combined with a preference for short consumption visits from the Mainland, as increasing numbers of Mainland consumers take advantage of the ease and flexibility of travel offered by the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS).

Indeed, 455,698 (40.5%) of the 1.12 million March arrivals from the Mainland were same-day visitors, compared with 356,867 (38.3%) in the same month in 2005. From the several permits available for travel to Hong Kong, over 45% (515,792) of Mainland visitors in March opted to travel under the IVS scheme, 28.6% more than last year. In total, visitors from Mainland China numbered 1,125,564 in March, 20.7% more than in the same month last year.

While the figures from the Mainland continue to be impressive, arrivals from all other markets also rose, both in the month of March and in the first three months of the year. In March, arrivals from The Americas (the USA, Canada, Central and South America) rose by 4.0% to a total figure of 148,893. Canada's contribution to this figure stands at 31,849 arrivals in March this year, compared with 29,124 in the same month last year. And for the three-month period, The Americas showed a growth of 4.9% with last year's tally of 352,940 rising to 370,143 this year. Of those numbers, this year's first quarter figures from Canada totalled 80,207, a significant increase (8.3%) over last year's figure of 74,078.

Among other long-haul regions, Europe, Africa & The Middle East was the best performer in March, growing by 9.2%, while arrivals from Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific increased by 3.0%. 

Some 61.2% of all March visitors to Hong Kong stayed in the region for at least one night, a slight drop from the 62.1% figure for the same month last year. However, hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels and tourist guesthouses was 91%, a 6 percentage-point rise compared with the same month in 2005. This growth was achieved in spite of a 3.8% increase in Hong Kong's hotel room supply over the past 12 months. Visitors' most favoured geographic location in March was Yau Ma Tei/Mong Kok, where hotels recorded an occupancy rate of 94%. The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories and districts was HK$1,113 (approx. Cdn.$160), an increase of 14.8% over March 2005.  Looking at the first quarter hotel figures, the average hotel occupancy for the period was 87%, three percentage points higher than in 2005. During that period, the average achieved hotel room rate stood at HK$1,027 (approx. Cdn.$147), 15.2% higher than in the first three months of 2005.

May 10, 2006   Posted in: Hong Kong