Where are Chinese tourists going if they’re giving protest-hit Hong Kong a miss?
- Singapore has emerged one of several big winners in Southeast Asia as mainland holidaymakers eye alternatives amid Hong Kong’s escalating violence
- However, with the US-China trade war pinching purses across the region, people might be travelling, but are they spending?
The Lion City’s tourism board said nearly 390,000 travellers from mainland China paid a visit in July this year, up almost 8 per cent from 361,019 visitors in July 2018. It was also a hefty 46 per cent jump on the figure for June this year, when 265,998 arrived.
Industry experts said there were always more Chinese tourists heading abroad in the summer to take advantage of the school holidays. But they added that Singapore was nevertheless among a number of Southeast Asian economies benefiting from a spike in mainlanders spurning Hong Kong as violent anti-government protests roil the city.
According to Hong Kong authorities, tourist arrivals dipped abruptly in July by 4.8 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year. The number of Chinese visitors fell 5.5 per cent to 4.16 million, down from the 4.4 million in July 2018.
Chua Hak Bin, senior economist at Maybank Kim Eng Research, said Chinese tourist arrivals had recently been “very strong” in Thailand despite a strong local currency making the country more expensive.