2007 Tourism Spending in Hong Kong passes HK$140 billion mark

Total Expenditure Associated to Inbound Tourism (TEAIT) in Hong Kong in 2007 reached HK$140.52 billion, an increase of 16.4% over 2006. The average per capita spending of overnight visitors surpassed the HK$5,000 mark to HK$5,122, 6.7% higher than the 2006 figure, while that of same-day in-town visitors surged by 22.1% to HK$1,239. The increases were achieved against the appreciation of currency in many source markets.

Among the overnight visitors, those from the Americas continued to have the highest per capita spending at HK$5,744, followed by Europe, Africa and the Middle East (HK$5,640). Meanwhile, Mainland China is catching up fast, with per capita spending growing by 10.4% to HK$5,193 – the highest among short-haul regions and the strongest growth of all market regions. Below summarises the per capita spending by overnight visitors from different market regions:

Same-day arrivals from Mainland China also had the highest per capita spending in 2007, an average of HK$1,832 (+19.2%). Many of these visitors made use of the convenience offered by the Individual Visit Scheme to make frequent consumption visits to Hong Kong. The per capita spending by Taiwanese same-day visitors however remained at relatively the same level as in 2006 (HK$229), as many of these visitors made brief stopover en route to Mainland China or other destinations.

The below summarises the per capita spending by same-day visitors from different market regions:

As for spending categories, shopping took up the largest share of spending by both overnight (56.7%) and same-day visitors (86.2%) in 2007. In particular, overnight visitors from Mainland China devoted 72.6% of their spending – the highest among all market regions – on shopping. Visitors not only spent more on shopping, but their satisfaction also enhanced, as the overall rating of their shopping experience in Hong Kong increased from 81% in 2006 to 83% in 2007.

The TEAIT is calculated according to the methodology recommended by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The two components of TEAIT are: 1 - Total Destination Consumption Expenditure – the sum of all payments made by visitors for goods and services consumed in Hong Kong, including accommodation, shopping, meals, entertainment and transport. The information is collected from HKTB’s Departing Visitors Survey; 2 - Passenger International Transportation Expenditure – receipts of Hong Kong-based carriers for cross-boundary transportation of non-resident passengers by air, sea or land. The data is provided by the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government.

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