Hong Kong arrivals strong for first half of 2012
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) reports that between January and June Hong Kong recorded a total of 22.32 million visitor arrivals, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%. Commenting on the positive growth trend in visitor arrivals, HKTB Chairman James Tien said, “We are encouraged to see that amidst the global economic uncertainties, our tourism industry reported satisfactory growth during the first half of the year. Other than Mainland China, growth was recorded in the overall short-haul and long-haul arrival figures, with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Russia achieving outstanding performances.”He added, “Looking into the latter half of this year, we remain cautiously optimistic about the industry outlook, even though the global economy remains volatile, which will inevitably impact the demand for travel. To address this, the HKTB will be closely monitoring changes in the macro environment. We will maintain flexibility in adapting our marketing strategies and make our best efforts to maintain a balanced portfolio of visitors. We have already planned the launch of a series of mega events in the coming months to further enhance Hong Kong’s appeal and provide our tourism partners with different business platforms.”Market performance from Mainland China, North Asia and Southeast Asia showed the strongest results. Many visitors from the UK came to Hong Kong for vacation and family visits, increasing arrivals by 7.3% to more than 270,000. Germany also registered a 3% increase to over 110,000 arrivals. From Russia, which is now Hong Kong’s fourth biggest European visitor source market, arrivals soared by 56.5% to exceed 90,000. When the 22.32 million figure is broken down further, it is revealed that The Americas played a part in this increase too, with a total of 898,946 arrivals from the region, a 1.4% increase over the same period last year. Canada, however, recorded a slight decline in the six-month period with 195,369 arrivals in 2012 compared with 197,974 in 2011, a 1.3% decline.
