Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for October 2008

Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in October 2008 reached 2,532,740, 1.4% less than in October 2007. This brings cumulative arrivals for January-October 2008 to 24,301,551, 6% ahead of the same period last year. Hong Kong visitor arrival numbers from different market regions:

• Taiwan: 194,925 (+5.4%)
• Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific: 79,849 (+4.8%)
• North Asia: 173,939 (+2.3%)
• Mainland China: 1,373,910 (+1.1%)
• South and Southeast Asia: 269,075 (-5.3%)
• Europe, Africa and the Middle East: 218,383 (-12.2%)
• Americas: 165,300 (-15.3%)

Russia continued to record positive gain, with arrivals increasing by 11%. Arrivals from New Zealand and Australia also increased by 11.8% and 3.8% respectively, with many visitors travelling to Hong Kong at the end of October for the exciting Bledisloe Cup rugby match between Australia and New Zealand.

Out of the total Mainland arrivals in October 2008, 772,493 or 56.2% arrived under the Individual Visit Scheme, 1.9% more than in October 2007. Cumulatively, there were 7,917,026 arrivals under the Individual Visit Scheme in the first 10 months of 2008, 12.4% more than for the same period in 2007.

Overnight Vs Same-Day In-Town Visitors

Overall, some 58.6% of all visitors to Hong Kong in October 2008 stayed in the city for at least one night, 0.5 percentage points lower than for the same month last year. The remaining 41.4% same-day in-town visitors either returned home or left for another destination on the same day as arrival.

October 2008 Hotel Occupancy

Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels in October 2008 was 85%, four percentage points lower than in October 2007. The geographic locations with the highest occupancy were Yau Ma Tei / Mong Kok, where hotels recorded an average occupancy rate of 89%. The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was HK$1,429, 6.8% lower than in October 2007.

See also: Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for September 2008 and other recent news regarding: Travel News Asia, Promotions, New Hotels, Hong Kong, Visitor Arrivals, October 2008