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Hong Kong Tourism Report Q3 2009Published by: Business Monitor International Published: Jul. 17, 2009 - 52 Pages Table of Contents
AbstractTourist Arrivals To Fall In 2009Figures released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) at the end of January 2009 showed thatvisitor arrivals for 2008 increased by 4.7% year-on-year (y-o-y), to 29,506,616. China remains the mainsource market for inbound tourists, with 16,862,003 people visiting Hong Kong in 2008, up 8.9% y-o-y. Tourism receipts totalled HKD158.95bn (US$20.38bn) for the year. The past 12 months was a strong year for Hong Kong tourism and we remain optimistic on the longertermprognosis for the territory. However, for the short term, we expect the global economic slowdown tohave a significant impact on discretionary spending, which will clearly impact on tourism industriesaround the globe. There is now also the threat from the H1N1 virus (swine flu) to contend with. Looking at the most recent figures from 2009 (which relate from January to May and are provisional),tourist arrival figures are down by 1.4%, at 11.87mn. However, May itself saw visitor numbers drop byan alarming 13.5%, following the news that Hong Kong had its first confirmed case of the H1N1 virus. Visitor arrivals from China were down by 9.9% y-o-y in May alone. For now, BMI will maintain its existing forecast that Hong Kong’s total tourism arrival figures for 2009will total 28.62mn, a 3% fall on 2008’s figures. However, any further diagnoses of swine flu will clearlybring severe downside risks to this forecast. 2010 should see essentially flat performance. Beyond 2010,we are cautiously optimistic that the global economy will regain traction and that tourism sector growthshould then prove possible. Difficult Operating Environment For Tourism Companies The current global economic slowdown is providing a challenging backdrop for companies operatingwithin the Hong Kong tourism industry at present. Hotel occupancy rates in Hong Kong are falling anddomestic airline Cathay Pacific recently announced a record loss for 2008. Swine flu now poses a furtherintangible factor in our forecasting. As such, BMI will continue to monitor the situation in Hong Kong tosee if any further changes to our tourism forecasts prove necessary. Addition Of Coverage On Swine Flu In May 2009, Hong Kong confirmed its first case of swine flu. To that end, BMI has added coverage ofswine flu to our existing coverage of avian flu. More information can be found on pages 35-36 of thisreport. Get Full Details About This Report >> |
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