VISITOR GROWTH CONTINUES AS SENTIMENT FOR DESTINATION HONG KONG STAYS POSITIVE

Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in April 2001 totalled 1,178,562, a 3.1% increase over the same period in 2000, the Hong Kong Tourism Board announced today (6 June). This maintains the pattern of moderate growth seen in the year to date, with cumulative arrivals for January to April 2001 totalling 4,375,598, a 6.5% increase over the first four months of last year.

While arrivals from North Asia (Japan and Korea) and The Americas were especially encouraging in April, showing growth of 13.7% and 5.8% respectively, most European source markets showed a slight decline, due to continuing economic concerns and the current low value of the euro. Economic concerns are also thought to be the main reason for a slowdown in Southeast Asian arrivals, especially from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Nevertheless regional sentiment towards Hong Kong as a destination remains extremely positive. A recent survey among Asian readers of Time and Fortune magazines shows that Hong Kong is given the highest ranking among 10 Asian destinations for tourism, with 72% of readers rating it “good” or “excellent”, ahead of Japan (68%) and Thailand (63%).

Readers also rated Hong Kong highly as a business centre, with 66% considering it “offers good trading opportunities” and 53% saying it “is easy to do business with”, both the top rankings in their category.

1st Quarter Tourism Receipts

The HKTB also released today details of tourism receipts for the first quarter of 2001. These show that total receipts — including those from transit/transfer passengers and servicemen and aircrew members and same-day visitors — grew by 5.1% to HK$14.75 billion.

There were also notable increases in per capita spending by visitors from The Americas (HK$5,303, +6.8%) and Mainland China (HK$5,083, +6.3%). Spending by visitors from South and Southeast Asia and Taiwan declined, however, with more and more tourists from these regions using Hong Kong as a short-stay or stopover destination. Overall, spending per capita fell slightly to HK$4,462, a decrease of 2.3%.

April 2001 Analysis by Markets

Hong Kong’s best-performing source market in April was North Asia, contributing 139,949 visitors, an increase of 13.7% over the same month in 2000. Arrivals from South Korea (33,804, +18.2%) and Japan (106,145, +12.4%) were both boosted by business people attending three major exhibitions during the month — the Hong Kong Houseware Fair; Asian Watch, Clock & Equipment Fair; and the Hong Kong Gifts & Premiums Fair. Korean arrivals additionally benefited from the resumption of direct flights from Cheju, bringing more visitors from Pusan and other southern cities.

Exhibition visitors were also a contributor to moderate increased growth from Mainland China (318,899 arrivals, +4.5%) and Taiwan (226,892, +2.4%).

In South and Southeast Asia, the star performer was again India, from where arrivals jumped 21.4% to 17,233. The stronger trade relationship between India and China continues to boost business traffic to the Mainland via Hong Kong. There has also been a sharp increase in airline capacity with four additional Cathay Pacific flights a week from New Delhi since late March, and the resumption of United Airlines’ round-the-world service via New Delhi and Hong Kong.

Overall, however, arrivals from South and Southeast Asia eased by 4.6%, primarily due to sharp falls in visitors from Malaysia (23,576, –12.5%) and Indonesia (15,284, –37.0%), both attributed to economic concerns. In Malaysia, Hong Kong also had to compete in April with that country’s own month-long national water festival and its recently launched “Mega Sales”.

In the long-haul markets, arrivals from The Americas grew 5.8%, led by the United States (92,745 arrivals, +6.9%), where traffic was spurred by the introduction of direct flights between New York and Hong Kong from 1 April, resulting in various competitive fare offers.

Most major source markets in Europe continue to be affected by the low value of the euro against the US dollar, resulting in total arrivals from Europe, Africa and the Middle East falling by 4.8% to 127,396.

Length of Stay

In total, 63.1% of April visitors to Hong Kong stayed for one night or longer, compared with 66.7% in April 2000. Taiwan visitors continue to be the shortest stayers with only 24.4% staying overnight. In contrast, 83.7% of visitors from The Americas and 83.3% from Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific do so.

Hotel Occupancy

Average hotel occupancy across all categories in April was 80%, compared with 85% in April 2000, although there has been a 3.1% increase in the daily average number of rooms available for sale over the corresponding period. For the first four months of 2001, average occupancy stands at 79%.

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Including arrivals of non-Macau residents from Macau

The Hong Kong Tourism Board was formerly known as the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA). The change took effect from 1 April 2001 and reflects a change to the tourism body’s constitutional structure. Its primary responsibilities for marketing and promoting Hong Kong as a destination worldwide, and for providing visitors with assistance when they a rrive, remain unchanged.

Does not include transit/transfer passengers and servicemen and aircrew members