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The
Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced today
(28 January) that total visitor arrivals in 2012 reached 48,615,113, an
increase of 16.0% over the 2011 yearly total. Out of the total
arrivals, 48.9%
or 23.77 million belonged to overnight visitors, 6.5% more than in
2011. Below are
the full-year visitor arrivals for various market regions:
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2012
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Vs 2011
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Total*
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48,615,113
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+16.0%
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Mainland
China
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34,911,395
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+24.2%
|
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Taiwan
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2,088,745
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-2.8%
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Other Short-haul Markets
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6,385,187
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+1.0%
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Long-haul
Markets
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4,273,750
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-1.4%
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New
Markets**
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956,036
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-6.0%
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*Total
figure includes arrivals from Macau
SAR
**New markets include India, the Middle
East, the Netherlands, Russia and Vietnam
Visitor
arrivals from short-haul markets in 2012 were
affected by the fact that many vacationers in the region cancelled
their trip
to Japan and came to Hong Kong following the 311 earthquake and related
incidents in 2011, which resulted in a larger short-haul arrival base
in 2011
and in turn caused the growth rate to narrow down in 2012.
Nevertheless, solid
gain in arrivals was recorded in such markets as South Korea (+5.6%)
and the
Philippines (+7.6%). As for Taiwan, other than the above-mentioned
factor,
arrivals from the market were also affected by the impact of
cross-strait
direct flights, which led to a decrease in business arrivals.
In the
long-haul regions, the sluggish performance
of the European and American economies caused a slight drop in the
number of
arrivals. However, the UK achieved year-on-year growth of 5.3%,
bringing the
country’s yearly arrivals to over 530,000.
Among
the new markets, Russia showed the best results,
with arrivals up 41.8% to more than 180,000, making the country the
fourth
largest European source market of Hong Kong, following the UK, France
and
Germany. As for other new markets, their performances had been affected
by
varied reasons. For example, in India, the closing down and strike in
airlines
led to decreased flight capacity between Hong Kong and India and an
increase in
air fare. Further aggravating the impact was the competitive pricing
strategy
adopted by regional destinations, which caused Indian arrivals to Hong
Kong to
decrease during 2012.
Increase
in Visitor Spending
Provisional statistics compiled by the HKTB show that the
Total Tourism
Expenditure Associated to Inbound Tourism (TEAIT) in 2012 is expected
to reach
HK$306.5 billion, 16.5% more than in 2011. In addition, the per capita
spending
of overnight visitors is projected to climb up 4.7% year-on-year to
HK$7,819.
- Ends -
Note:
Visitor arrivals mentioned in this
release include both overnight visitors and same-day in-town visitors. According to the World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO), visitors are divided into two categories:
(i) tourists
or overnight visitors, if the trip involves an overnight stay; and
(ii) same-day
visitors or excursionists, if the trip does not involve an overnight stay.
(Please
refer to the attached Visitor Arrival Statistics for
details)
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