Known to be one of the safest places for travel, Hong Kong is China’s special administrative region and is a city in South China. It is one of the most densely populated cities in the whole world with about seven and a half million occupants from all over the world. Covid 19 affected the tourism sector in Hong Kong but the Tourism Board of Hong Kong has taken this time to get the tourism sector to a better position. Some trends and statistics of the industry are discussed below.
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Tourism trends and statistics in Hong Kong pre and post the pandemic
- Hong Kong is the world’s most popular city in terms of tourism.
- Hong Kong offers the tourists who visit the city a vast range of tourist attractions as well as world-class exhibition and convention facilities.
- Hong Kong mostly gets its visitors from the month of April all through till December. This is because of the months when the weather is drier and you can do more outside.
- The number of tourists who visited Hong Kong in the past years has been millions upon millions, putting even larger tourist destinations such as London to shame.
- The number of tourists who visited Hong Kong in 2014 was twenty-six million while the number of those who visited Singapore, which was the second most visited country was at twenty-three million.
- The little city in capacity hosts approximately half of what the whole of China holds.
- The majority of tourists who come to Hong Kong are the Chinese from the mainland, although there are many more other tourists who come from various countries.
- The majority of the international tourists in Hong Kong in 2019 came from Macao, Japan, the United States, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Australia, the United Kingdom as well Korea.
- Hong Kong was ranked to have the world’s best airport in 2016.
- The best shopping season in Hong Kong is Christmas as well as the Chinese New Year.
- People have been seen avoiding touring Hong Kong on major holidays as the city gets very crowded and the prices of items shoot up.
- Hong Kong is also known to have the best metro system in the whole world which is captivating to a lot of tourists.
- The tourism industry contributed to 4.5 of the Gross Domestic Product in Hong Kong in 2018.
- The tourism industry was also responsible for the employment of two hundred and fifty-seven thousand people in various departments in tourism which contributed to 6.6% of the total employment in Hong Kong that year.
- There is an increase in the number of boutique hotels in Hong Kong.
- The total number of tourists who visited Hong Kong in 2019 was fifty-five million, nine hundred and twelve thousand, six hundred and nine which was 14.2% less than the previous year.
- The mainland was the main source of visitor market for Hong Kong in 2019.
- The mainland contributed to 78% of Hong Kong’s total tourist arrivals.
- The number of visitors who were not from the mainland went down by 14% in the same year.
- Among these visitors who were not from the mainland, the number of those who came to Hong Kong from the short-haul markets went down by 14.6% while the ones who came from the long-haul markets went down by 12.7%.
- The average hotel room occupancy rate was 79% which was 12% less than that of 2018.
- In 2020, the pandemic outbreak took a big toll on the tourism industry in Hong Kong.
- In 2020, the total number of international tourist arrivals in Hong Kong reduced by 88.2% from the previous year within the first five months of the year.
Initiative trends in tourism in Hong Kong
- The government is continuously looking for ways to ensure that Hong Kong is accessible to more people from all over the world.
- Citizens of one hundred and seventy countries by now are free to visit Hong Kong without requiring visas for periods that could be seven days or even one hundred and eight days.
- The visitors from the mainland have IVS (Individual Visit Scheme) which allows the residents from specific cities of the Mainland to have the freedom of visiting Hong Kong as independent individuals without having to join tours. These cities include Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Wuhan, and Guiyang, among others.
- Since the implementation of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) up until 2019, there has been a total of more than two hundred and ninety-five million tourist arrivals from the Mainland through the scheme.
- The government set up Hong Kong Tourism Board for it to be able to enhance the tourism industry in the city.
- Hong Kong has come up with the development of smart tourism in the city.
- There are more WiFi hotspots all over the city, especially in tourist attraction sites. The stability, as well as the connection speed, is being improved such that tourists can enjoy fast reliable network services during their stay in Hong Kong.
- The Visit Hong Kong landing page was launched in 2018 and it helps tourists as they come to Hong Kong to obtain relevant and useful information to them such as the various transport facilities available to and from various tourist attraction sites, the shopping areas, the various terminals around the city, the hotels in the city and what they offer as well as the promotional offers that are ongoing.
- The government has also provided funding to the Tourism Board to allow them to use Information Technology to make the tourist attraction sites better and generally improve the competitiveness of the tourism industry in Hong Kong.
Current trends and statistics of Tourism in Hong Kong
- There is an increase in demand for solo traveling packages in Hong Kong and all over the world.
- People are choosing Hong Kong as their travel destination as it has a lot to offer in terms of wellness tourism.
- Hong Kong is not falling behind in the introduction of tourism packages.
- Hong Kong is known to be the safest city for solo travelers and this is gaining more attention for the city.
- Hong Kong is also gaining more traffic due to how clean and stress-free the environment is. It is the ideal destination for one to go to wind down and relax completely.
- More and more people are getting inclined to go to destinations that are tourism-friendly for ease of moving around such as Hong Kong where the majority of the local community speaks English and is also very friendly.
- Spending more time in nature is an emerging trend and Hong Kong is still at the forefront because it offers a variety of landscapes and outdoor activities that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Anticipated trends and statistics in Hong Kong Tourism
- Hong Kong is using new infrastructure elements as a lure for international and local tourists.
- The Hong Kong Palace Museum is set to have its grand opening this Summer which will attract a lot of international as well as local tourists.
- The third runway that is at the Hong Kong International Airport has been scheduled to go into service in a few years.
- The director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board stated that they will be first focusing on the generation of a positive environment and ambiance in the city so as to be able to stimulate the consumption in the city as well as maintain the profile of the city globally. This will be through the launch of ‘Hong Kong Summer Treats”.
- Arts in Hong Kong is one of the campaigns that will be introduced by this treat and it serves the tourism industry by supporting international arts as well as cultural events that lure tourists.
- Once the rules about social distance are further relaxed, there is the arrangement for more world-class events to take place such as the Hong Kong WinterFest, and the Hong Kong Wine and Dine.
- There will also be high-profile events, for example, the Hong Kong Sevens.
- The Hong Kong International Airport will be getting transformed from being a city airport to an Airport city, such that it will be itself a destination for travelers.
- The Airport city will attract international visitors due to all that it will have to offer such as the various option for dining, retail, leisure as well as entertainment.
- Hong Kong is also set to launch Kai Tak Sports Park which integrates sports, culture, and tourism altogether. This is set to boost the vibrancy of the city’s tourism landscape as it will be offering world-class entertainment, leisure, and sports experiences.
- The Hong Kong Tourism Board has had research carried out and found out that the leading factors that make tourists love the city are the ease of communication, the unique cuisine, cleanliness, the in-depth experiences as well as the local culture.
- The Tourism Board is striving to make sure that the city’s core strengths are amplified such that the tourism industry continues to grow even more.
- The tourism industry in Hong Kong is set to see its full potential as it is continuously being strategized for maximum output.
References
https://www.chinahighlights.com/hong-kong/hong-kong-facts.htm
https://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/factsheets/docs/tourism.pdf
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