Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for April 2009

Hong Kong visitor arrivals in April 2009 reached 2,439,490, 0.8% more than in April 2008. This brings cumulative arrivals for the first four months of 2009 to 9,843,203, 1.5% ahead of the same period last year.

Among the different market regions, positive gain was recorded in South and Southeast Asia and in Mainland China. Out of the total Mainland arrivals, 748,727 or 53.2% arrived under the Individual Visit Scheme, 11.5% more than in the same period last year.

As for other short-haul regions, both North Asia and Taiwan registered shortfall in arrivals, as the former was continually affected by the weak economy, while the latter by the cross-strait direct links.

On a similar trend, all long-haul regions continued their downward trend in April 2009 due to weakened consumer sentiments for long-distance travel as a result of the financial crisis since the last quarter of 2008. Consequently, both the Americas and Europe, Africa and the Middle East registered double-digit decreases in arrivals.

Visitor arrivals from different market regions in April 2009:

• Mainland China: 1,406,500 (+7.8%)
• South & Southeast Asia: 262,242 (+3.9%)
• Taiwan: 169,760 (-10.5%)
• North Asia: 132,031 (-19.2%)
• Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific: 66,175 (-5.3%)
• The Americas: 150,172 (-12.0%)
• Europe, Africa and the Middle East: 200,600 (-10.9%)

Overnight v Same-Day In-Town Visitors

Overall, some 56.7% of all visitors to Hong Kong in April 2009 stayed in the city for at least one night, 0.3 percentage point higher than in the same month last year. The remaining 43.3% same-day in-town visitors either returned home or left for another destination on the same day as arrival.

April 2009 Hotel Occupancy

Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels in April 2009 was 79%, six percentage points lower than in April 2008. The geographic locations with the highest occupancy were Yau Ma Tei / Mong Kok, where hotels recorded average occupancy rate of 83%. The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was HK$1,116, 21.6% lower than in April 2008.

See also: Hong Kong Visitor Arrivals for March 2009 and April 2008

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