Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for October 2007

In October 2007, visitor arrivals to Hong Kong  rose by 17% to 2,568,040, making it the best October figure ever for the vibrant city. The increase brought the cumulative arrivals for January-October 2007 to 22,931,804, a year-on-year increase of 10.4%.

The increase in arrivals was largely driven by continued robust performance of Mainland China and the long-haul market regions, all of which recorded double-digit gain. In particular, Mainland China registered outstanding growth of 25.5%, which boosted monthly arrivals from the market to almost 1.36 million, as shown below:

• Mainland China: 1,359,194 (+25.5%)
• Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific: 76,162 (+17.1%)
• Europe, Africa and the Middle East: 248,817 (+11%)
• The Americas: 195,126 (+15%)
• North Asia: 169,995 (+5.2%)
• South and Southeast Asia: 284,028 (+9.5%)
• Taiwan: 184,984 (+0.5%)

As for the individual source markets, exceptional performance was recorded in long-haul markets such as Canada (+26.8%), New Zealand (+21.8%) and France (+11.9%), and from the key volume providers, including the United States (+11.5%), the United Kingdom (+12.5%), Australia (+16.4%) and South Korea (+10.2%). As for the newly emerged markets, such as the Middle East, the growth trend remained strong, with arrivals increasing by a solid 21%.

In October, there were almost 1.52 million overnight visitor arrivals (59.1% of the total), with the remainder of 1.05 million (40.9%) classified as same-day in-town visitors. Out of the total arrivals for January-October 2007, more than 13.97 million or 60.9% stayed in the city for at least one night, while those who left on the same day of arrival exceeded 8.96 million (39.1%).

October 2007 Arrivals by Markets

Arrivals from Mainland China grew by 25.5% to 1,359,194 in October, bringing the cumulative January-October arrivals to 12,671,343, 12.3% ahead of the same period last year. Of the Mainland arrivals in October, 758,380 or 55.8% travelled under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS), a year-on-year increase of 40.5%. 

This took the cumulative IVS arrivals in January-October 2007 to more than 7.04 million, which represents 55.6% of visitors from the Mainland and growth of 27.5%.

The 184,984 visitor arrivals from Taiwan represented a 0.5% increase over 2006, taking the total for the first 10 months of the year to almost 1.86 million, a 2% increase. 

Arrivals from South and Southeast Asia grew by 9.5% to 284,028 in October. Indonesia provided the greatest number of visitors (70,513, +16.9%), while the Philippines enjoyed the highest growth rate at 24.9%. The region’s January-October total stood at 2,248,882, an increase of 7.1%.

South Korea continued to provide the impetus to arrivals growth from North Asia, which showed a 5.2% year-on-year increase in October to 169,995. Of these, 102,287 (+2.1%) were from Japan, while 67,708 (+10.2%) came from South Korea. Cumulative January-October arrivals stood at 1,773,130, 8.3% more than in 2006, with arrivals from Japan up by 1.5% and those from South Korea by 20.8%.

Arrivals from Europe, Africa and the Middle East reached 248,817 in October, a year-on-year increase of 11%. Among the individual markets in this region, the UK (62,480, +12.5%) and France (25,804, +11.9%) were again the star performers. Cumulative January-October arrivals from this region reached 1,798,431, 14.9% higher than in the same period in 2006.

Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific delivered 76,162 arrivals, 17.1% more than that of last October. Both Australia (64,277 +16.4%) and New Zealand (11,296 +21.8%) registered double-digit increases. The cumulative 10-month arrivals for the region reached 623,987, 13.5% ahead of the same period of 2006.

The Americas also achieved robust growth in October, with arrivals increasing by 15% to 195,126. Canada sustained its strong growth at 26.8%, while arrivals from the US also increased by 11.5%. This took the overall arrivals from the region in January-October 2007 to 1,448,550, 8.1% more than in the same period in 2006.

October 2007 Same-Day In-Town Visitors

Some 59.1% of all visitors to Hong Kong in October stayed in the city for at least one night, 2.9 percentage points lower than for the same month last year. The remaining 40.9% same-day in-town visitors either returned home or left for another destination on the same day as arrival.

Between January and October 2007, 60.9% of all visitors stayed one night or more, 1.8 percentage points lower than for the same period in 2006.

October 2007 Hotel Occupancy

The average occupancy across all categories of hotels in October was 89%, four percentage points higher than in October 2006. The geographic locations with the highest occupancies in October were, as always, Yau Ma Tei / Mong Kok, where hotels recorded rates of 91%.

The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories for the month was HK$1,533, 10.6% higher than in October 2006.

The average occupancy across all categories of hotels for January-October 2007 was 85%, one percentage point lower than in the same period in 2006. The average achieved room rate across all hotel categories was HK$1,194, 12.1% higher than in the first 10 months of 2006.

See also: Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for September 2007 and other recent news regarding: Travel News Asia, Hotels, Hong Kong, Visitor Arrivals