Hong Kong tourists up 14.7% to 20mn

Arrivals of Chinese tourists soared more than 20% to over 12 million behind the Mainland’s positive economic environment.

Hong Kong saw almost 20 million visitor arrivals in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 14.7%, and a record tally for the period.

The Tourism Board said June also saw arrivals rise 15.9% to more than 3 million.

Chairman James Tien said: “We are strongly encouraged that visitor arrivals to Hong Kong reached a new high in the first half of this year, with all major source markets achieving steady growth."

Mainland arrivals rose more than 20% to over 12 million, as a result of the individual visit scheme policy and the positive economic environment, according to a Tourism Board report.

Overnight arrivals from the Mainland grew 11.8% to 6.13 million, and 64.5% came under the individual visit scheme, 28.6% more than the same period last year.

In June, the number of Mainland arrivals increased 23.1% year-on-year to more than 1.92 million. This marked the fourth consecutive month in which more than 20% growth was registered for the Mainland market.

For short-haul markets, arrivals exceeded 3.93 million in this year’s first half, 4% more than the figure for last year.

South Korean arrivals rose 18.6% to 500,000. In June South Korean arrivals rose 37.3% to almost 80,000.

For Taiwan, cumulative arrivals were similar to last year at 1.05 million. Despite cross-strait direct links, the number of overnight visitors with higher spending was 11% higher than last year. In June overnight Taiwanese arrivals surged 32.9%, bringing overall arrivals from the island up 7.7% to surpass 180,000.

Mr Tien forecast growth to continue in the second half of the year.

“We are closely monitoring developments in the European and American financial markets, which might impact the global economy and tourism.”