China promises Hong Kong tourism boost
HONG KONG – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has indicated that the central government will push more mainland tourists into Hong Kong by expanding the Facilitated Individual Travel Scheme to other cities on the mainland.
Figures released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board show that visitor arrivals in September 2008 reached 2,194,840, 3.5% more than in September 2007, although these figures were skewed by the Golden Week holiday period.
The growth in September was mainly driven by the short-haul regions, as positive increases were registered for Mainland China (+10.0%) and South & Southeast Asia (+5.3%).
In particular, Mainland arrivals during the National Day Golden Week holiday period, which was advanced to the end September this year, contributed to the double-digit increase for the market.
The long-haul market regions sustained their downward trend, as the impact of the Mainland visa policy adjustment continued and the global economic conditions worsened.
September visitor arrivals from Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific were 69,304, a drop of 5.8% on the 2007 figure.
Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels in September 2008 was 79%, two percentage points lower than in September 2007
The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was HK$1,228, 3.1% lower than in September 2007.
Ian Jarrett
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