Rise in visitor arrivals attributed to HKZMB

Visitor arrivals in November 2018 increased by 15.3 percent year-on-year to exceed 3.26 million, according to the latest data from the Statistics and Census Service, attributed in part to the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HKZMB).

Overnight visitors (1.59 million) and same-day visitors (1.67 million) rose 5.1 percent and 26.9 percent year-on-year respectively in November, with the average length of stay holding steady at 1.2 days. Overnight visitors on average stayed for 2.2 days, while same-day visitors stayed for 0.2 days.

Analyzed by place of origin, visitors from mainland China grew by 15.3 percent year-on-year to 2.28 million in November, coming primarily from Guangdong province (925,400) and Hunan province (115,700).

Visitors from Hong Kong (591,000) surged 25.6 percent, whereas those from South Korea (67,600) and Taiwan (82,100) dropped by 6.6 percent and 2.4 percent respectively. Meanwhile, visitors from the United States (22,500), Australia (8,400), Canada (8,200) and the United Kingdom (6,400) registered year-on- year increases.

By mode of transport, visitor arrivals by land soared by 47.9 percent year-on-year to 2.31 million in November, with about 436,600 traveling via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. Meanwhile, visitors arriving via the Border Gate (1.66 million) rose by 21.5 percent.

Visitor arrivals by air increased by 11.3 percent year-on-year to 272,800, while those by sea plunged by 33.7 percent to 678,500.

Visitor arrivals totaled 32.23 million in the first 11 months of 2018, representative of a 9.1 percent increase year-on-year, with overnight visitors (16.75 million) and same-day visitors (15.48 million) growing by 7.2 percent and 11.1 percent respectively.

During this time, visitors from mainland China exceeded 22.81 million in the first 11 months of this year, while those from Hong Kong amounted to 5.64 million. Visitors from South Korea (735,600) and Taiwan (967,900) dropped by 7.7 percent and 0.4 percent respectively. Travelers from the United States (182,200), Australia (80,200), the United Kingdom (53,400) registered growth, while those from Canada (66,300) declined.