Tourism in Hong Kong

The tourism industry has been an important part of the economy of Hong Kong since it shifted to a service sector model in the late 1980s and early 90s. There has been a sharp increase of mainland Chinese tourists due to the introduction of the Individual Visit Scheme in 2003.

Background

The total tourism expenditure associated to inbound tourism reached HK$117.3 billion in 2006. Overall visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in 2006 increased by 8.1% to 25.25 million, which was lower than what the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) had expected. The HKTB had initial expectations of 27 million visitor arrivals. Visitor arrivals from Mainland China exceeded 13.5 million. Arrivals in December 2006 exceeded 2.4 million, setting an outright record for a single month.

Along with the strong growth in the number of Mainland visitors, most other long and short-haul markets are also performing healthily with double-digit growth over 2006. Among long-haul markets, Europe, Africa and the Middle East took the lead with arrivals of 1,916,861, an 11.1% increase that made this Hong Kong's best-performing market region in 2006.

While facing increasing competition from Mainland cities and Macau, The Hong Kong Tourism Board work closely with authorities and trade to make Hong Kong an essential component in all combo and multi-destination itineraries.

Tourism, along with import/export and financial services are the three main sources of income for Hong Kong.Fact|date=June 2007

Accommodation and length of stay

In December 2006, there were 612 hotels and tourist guest houses in Hong Kong, with 52,512 rooms. The average occupancy rate across all categories of hotels and tourist guesthouses was 87% for the whole of 2006, a one-percentage-point growth compared with 2005 regardless of the 7.4% increase in Hong Kong's room supply between December 2005 and December 2006. During 2006, 62.7% of all visitors stayed one night or longer, which is a trend reflecting Hong Kong's increasing importance as a regional transport hub.

Tourism Commission

The Tourism Commission was established in May 1999 to promote Hong Kong as Asia's premier international city for all visitors. A Tourism Strategy Group, comprising representatives from the Government, the HKTB and various sectors of the tourism industry has been established to advise the Government on tourism development from a strategic perspective.

Attractions and facilities

Almost any of the districts of Hong Kong can be considered a tourist destination. The following items are areas generally marked as main attractions.

Hong Kong Island

Festivals

*Tin Hau Festival
*Cheung Chau Bun Festival
*Buddha's Birthday celebrations at Po Lin Monastery.
* Dragon boat Festival

Accessing Hong Kong

To facilitate entry of visitors, various measures were introduced in 2002. The quota of the Hong Kong Tour Group Scheme of Mainland visitors has been abolished since January 2002. The number of Mainland travel agents authorised to organize such tours has also increased significantly. Nationals from some 170 countries can visit Hong Kong visa free for period from seven days to 180 days. The Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) was introduced on July 28, 2003. The Scheme has been gradually extended and now covers Guangdong province, Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Tianjian and nine cities in Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In 2006, over 6.6 million Mainland citizens travelled to Hong Kong under the IVS, which is 20.2% more than 2005.

Promotion

The HKTB continues to promote the destination to business and leisure travelers through its worldwide “Hong Kong – Live it, Love it!” campaign. Leveraging on the opening of several new attractions from 2005 onwards, the HKTB has designated 2006 as "Discover Hong Kong Year". The global marketing campaign makes use of a series of strategic promotions to showcase the new image of Hong Kong and promote it as a “must-visit” destination in 2006. The HKTB has already started promotions to the travel trade in May 2005 and will roll out consumer promotions worldwide in late 2005. Alongside promoting Hong Kong as a preferred tourist destination in Asia, the HKTB places emphasis on developing joint marketing efforts with strategic partners to promote multi-destination tourism and develop new markets. Building on the recent Pan-Pearl River Delta co-operation agreement, a series of joint overseas marketing initiatives is being conducted with Macau and the nine provincial tourism bureaux concerned.

ee also

* Shopping in Hong Kong
* Culture of Hong Kong
* Transportation in Hong Kong
* Tourism in China

Lists

* Visitor Attractions in Hong Kong
* Amusement parks in Hong Kong
* Beaches of Hong Kong
* Media in Hong Kong
* Museums in Hong Kong
* Declared monuments of Hong Kong
* Hong Kong Country Parks & Special Areas
* List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong
* List of areas of Hong Kong

External links

*wikitravel|Hong Kong
* [http://www.discoverhongkong.com Hong Kong Tourism Board]
* [http://www.gohk.gov.hk/ Local travel guide, Home Affairs Department]
* [http://www.hkoutdoors.com Hong Kong Outdoors]
* [http://www.asiaing.com/this-is-hong-kong.html "This is Hong Kong"]
* [http://hktour.blogspot.com/ A Hong Kong Travel Guide, a blog by the locals]
* [http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_22132-Hong-Kong-Jewellers-Accused-Of-Selling-Fake-Diamonds-To-Tourists.html Hong Kong Jewellers Accused Of Selling Fake Diamonds To Tourists] "Playfuls.com, Romania (Apr 1, 2007)"
* [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=41619&sid=13001307&con_type=1 TIC holds talks in Beijing to win back China tourists] "The Standard (April 04, 2007)"
* [http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/products_and_services/products/publications/statistical_report/feature_articles/transport/index_cd_B70803FC_dt_detail.jsp Tourism Satellite Account for Inbound Tourism of Hong Kong] - Census and Statistics Department