Visitor arrivals for the first six months of 2010 reached 16,856,016 - a record breaking result according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. This figure represents not only a year-on-year increase of 23.1%, but also the highest half-yearly figure ever recorded.
Also reaching a new record was the arrival figure for the month of June alone, which increased by 43.5% to reach 2,619,722.
HKTB Chairman, Mr James Tien, said, “Following the record-breaking results in previous months, visitor arrivals reached new heights again during the first six months as well as in June this year. We saw not just significant year-on-year growth, but also a leap upwards from the 2008 level in many market regions. The recovering global economy has helped to increase travel propensity and sustain the growth momentum of visitor arrivals this year. We expect visitor arrivals to maintain its steady growth in the second half of this year. Leveraging on the growth momentum, the HKTB has already planned a series of promotions and mega events to stimulate greater desire and interest in visiting Hong Kong.”
Visitor arrivals from The Americas played their part in the record-breaking half year, with the total from the region (USA, Canada and South & Central America) reaching 836,253, a growth of 11.1% over the same period last year. Of that number, 187,130 arrivals were from Canada, a 6.8% growth over 2009.
For June alone, the figures were even more impressive (and encouraging for the months ahead). A total of 25,362 travellers from Canada visited Hong Kong in June, a 15.5% increase over the same month in the previous year.
In other long-haul markets, the improved world economy brought recovery in business travel and most of these markets recorded growth over last year. The U.S. was the best-performing long-haul market with over 560,000 Hong Kong arrivals, a 10.6% increase.
