Record Visitor Spending in 2006 Exceeds Hong Kong's Forecast

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has released the 2006 tourism spending figures, which show that the Total Expenditure Associated to Inbound Tourism (TEAIT) grew by 12.7% compared with 2005 to a record high of HK$119.43 billion, exceeding the original forecast by more than HK$4.7 billion. This means that the TEAIT for both 2005 and 2006, when the HKTB implemented the Discover Hong Kong Year campaign, exceeded the original forecast by more than HK$12 billion. Hong Kong's tourism arrivals for February 2007 reached a new high for the month of more than 2.28 million.

The 2006 spending figures showcase the increasing contribution of tourism to Hong Kong’s economy, with all market regions recording increases in total and per capita spending. The average per capita spending of overnight visitors (those staying one night or more) grew by 2.9% to HK$4,799, while that of the same-day in-town visitors increased significantly by 25.3% from HK$810 in 2005 to HK$1,015 in 2006. A key factor leading to the growth of same-day, in-town visitor spending is the higher-than-average spending by consumption visitors from Mainland China – a key high-yield target segment of the HKTB during 2006 Discover Hong Kong Year.

As for February 2007 arrivals, the more than 2.28 million visitors represented an increase of 18.2% compared with the same month in 2006. The growth was largely driven by the robust performance of Mainland China during the Lunar New Year period, which has become a popular time to visit Hong Kong for leisure, especially with the convenience of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). As a result, the market registered double-digit increase in arrivals.

In a countervailing trend, arrivals from the long-haul market regions of the Americas, and Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific decreased, due to a slowdown in business travel during the Chinese New Year holidays.

More than 1.41 million February arrivals (62% of the total) stayed in the city for at least one night, while the remainder of over 868,400 (38%) were classified as same-day in-town visitors.

Arrivals from key regional source markets were:

• Mainland China: 1,481,029 (29.8%);
• Taiwan: 188,537 (7%);
• South & Southeast Asia: 141,780 (-7.3%);
• North Asia: 158,017 (1.8%);
• Europe, Africa & the Middle East: 128,848 (2.8%);
• The Americas: 99,911 (-2.2%); and
• Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific: 37,732 (-7.4%).

Visitors from Mainland China represented 64.8% of February arrivals. Travellers under the IVS in February numbered 918,310, 62% of the Mainland total and 59.9% more than in the same month last year.

See other recent news regarding: Hong Kong, Visitor Arrivals, Tourism, Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals