Individual visitors: Over 45% of Mainland visitors in March opted to travel under the Individual Visit Scheme, 28.6% more than last year.

Tourist arrivals grew to 2,102,768 in March, up 14.8% on the same month last year, the Tourism Board says. The growth was led by the 1,125,564 arrivals from the Mainland, 20.7% more than the same month last year.

Growth in the first three months brought total arrivals to 6.2 million, up 13.8% on last year. Of the March arrivals, 61.2% were classified as overnight visitors, with the remaining 38.8% as same-day arrivals.

The Tourism Board said this high percentage of same-day, in-town visitors reflects both Hong Kong's status as the region's leading aviation hub and a preference for short consumption visits among increasing numbers of Mainland consumers, many of whom are taking advantage of the ease and flexibility of travel offered by the Individual Visit Scheme.

Of the 1.12 million Mainland arrivals, 455,698, or 40.5%, were same-day visitors, compared with 356,867 (38.3%) the same month last year.

Individual visitors

From the several permits available for travel to Hong Kong, over 45% (515,792) of Mainland visitors in March opted to travel under the Individual Visit Scheme, 28.6% more than last year.

Aside from the Mainland, the best-performing regional markets in March were North Asia, with 15% growth, and South & Southeast Asia, from which visitor numbers grew 10.3%.

While all other regions also showed increases, the relatively soft performance from some key long-haul markets illustrates concerns over avian flu during the winter months that affected forward bookings and hence visitor arrivals in March.

Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels and tourist guesthouses was 91%, a six percentage-point rise compared on the 2005 figure. The growth was achieved in spite of a 3.8% increase in Hong Kong's hotel room supply during the past year.