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| Visitors on the rise: Hong Kong welcomed close to 1.7 million tourists in May, the highest figure yet recorded for the month. It represents a nearly three-fold increase over the same month last year, and 27.2% growth on the May 2002 performance. |
Hong Kong welcomed 1,694,392 visitor arrivals in May, easily the highest May figure yet recorded, the Hong Kong Tourism Board says.
This represents a 297％ increase over the same month last year, when Hong Kong was still in the grip of SARS, and 27.2% growth on the May 2002 performance, which provides a more meaningful benchmark. The total exceeds the May 2002 figure - the previous highest for May - by more than 360,000.
Arrivals from the Mainland were 78.8% ahead of the May 2002 figure at 972,837, while Europe, Africa & the Middle East (+8.4%) and Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific (+6.7%) also showed healthy growth over the same period, and the Americas (!V1.1%) came close.
Golden Week holiday a boost for Mainland arrivals
The Board's Executive Director Clara Chong noted that May was traditionally one of Hong Kong's quieter months for tourism, so reaching nearly 1.7 million arrivals in the month was a significant achievement.
"In recent years the Golden Week holiday has given Mainland arrivals a boost in the early part of May, and that was again the case this time," she said.
"However, the performance of our long-haul markets was also very encouraging and demonstrates that our tourism growth is coming from a number of different sources."
For the first five months of 2004 combined, total arrivals stand at 8.37 million, growth of 60.2% compared with the same period last year and 32.2% with that of 2002.
Commenting on the trend, Ms Chong said that early results for June are also showing a healthy positive trend.
"We are now confident of reaching our half-year targets and staying on track to achieve the aggressive target we set ourselves of 20.5 million arrivals in 2004, which is 38% ahead of 2003," she said.
Same-day in-town visitors drop
In May, 62.6% of all visitors stayed for one night or longer, a significant improvement on the 56.2% in May 2003, when the SARS outbreak encouraged many to keep their stay to a minimum.
The remaining 37.4% were classified as "same-day in-town" visitors, departing for another destination on the same day as arrival.
For the first five months of 2004, 62.7% of all visitors have stayed for one night or more, compared with 61.9% for the same period in 2003.
Hotel occupancy rate more than 80％
Average occupancy rate across all categories of hotels and tourist guest houses in May was 83%, compared with only 18% in May last year when the impact of SARS on Hong Kong was at its most severe. In May 2002, a fairer comparison, average occupancy also stood at 83%.
The average achieved hotel room rate was $731, a 23.7% improvement on the May 2003 figure.
For the first five months of 2004, the average occupancy rate stood at 85%, compared with 58% for the same period in 2003 and 83% in 2002. The average achieved hotel room rate is $773, a significant improvement on the $669 recorded for this period in 2003 and HK$702 in 2002.
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