Hong Kong sees tourism bump thanks to handover celebrations
Tourism board says visitor numbers grew at a better than expected rate for the first seven months of the year
Hong Kong’s struggling tourism sector has shown signs of recovery, as visitor numbers jumped 2.4 per cent in the first seven months of the year, according to the Tourism Board.
In July, the number of visitors also increased 2.4 per cent on a year on year basis, with those from the mainland up 5.7 per cent, as more travellers visited the city to attend events for the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong sovereignty to the mainland.
The positive July figure – compared to a 1.9 per cent drop in June – raised hopes Hong Kong might be able to end its tourism downturn, after visitor numbers dipped for two consecutive years.
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“At the beginning of the year, we did not expect the recovery to be so strong,” Peter Lam Kin-ngok, chairman at the Tourism Board said. It predicted in February that visitor numbers would fall 2.2 per cent this year.
Lam attributed the upbeat growth to a number of events held in the city to mark the handover anniversary, such as exhibitions, performances and promotions.
“There has been also a lot of media coverage about Hong Kong handover on the mainland. Along with the visit of President Xi Jinping in June ... they made people more interested in Hong Kong,” Lam said. Mainland visitors make up more than 70 per cent of the city’s overall visitors.
The conflict between China and South Korea over a US missile system earlier this year also drove mainland travellers from the popular tourist country to Hong Kong, he added.
While more visitors have come to the city, their spending continued to fall.
In the first half of the year, the average overnight visitor spent HK$6,250 in the city, down 3.7 per cent from the same period last year. Average hotel rates also dropped 2.4 per cent to HK$1,228 per night on a yearly basis.
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To lure more high-value overnight visitors and transit passengers, the Tourism Board plans to launch a number of promotion packages with four local airlines using government funding from September.
Passengers on Cathay Pacific Airways, Cathay Dragon, Hong Kong Express and Hong Kong Airlines will be given a free one-day tour worth HK$400 to HK$800 if they stay in the city for more than three nights.
To encourage transit passengers to spend in the city – instead of staying at the airport – free train tickets linking to the city’s major business districts will be given to those who stay at least 6 hours in the city.
The board also plans to fund Hong Kong-themed tourism projects, by providing up to HK$2 million to organisers if the projects met its criteria.
