Tourism | Hong Kong visitors rise 24% in June, thought linked to protests

Visitors from Hong Kong rose 24.3% year-on-year in June to reach 623,000, according to the latest data provided by the Statistics and Census Service. During the same period, tourist arrivals from mainland China, Macau’s primary tourism market increased by 19.9% year-on-year to 2.1 million.

Hong Kong was in a state of turmoil for most of June, with protests against a controversial extradition bill held every few days. Some of the June protests reportedly attracted more than a million participants.

Macau’s Tourism Crisis Management Office yesterday recommended that local residents “cautiously plan their trips to Hong Kong.”

The office also suggested that local residents should avoid going to demonstration or conflict zones in Hong Kong, adding that the office is keeping a close eye on the situation in the neighboring city.

As of 9 a.m. yesterday, no enquiries or requests for assistance were received by the crisis office regarding the attacks at Sheung Wan Ferry Pier and Yuen Long MRT Station in Hong Kong.

Last week, political commentator Larry So told the Times that the SAR may expect an increase in the number of tourists from China, as some of them may prefer to visit Macau rather than Hong Kong due to the ongoing protests.

The Hong Kong Inbound Travel Association has estimated that the number of organized tours to the city has dropped by 20% to 30% so far this month compared to the same period in 2018.

Meanwhile, in June, those travelling from mainland China to Macau under the Individual Visit Scheme rose by 14.9% to 931,200, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). Mainland visitors primarily came from Guangdong province (924,400) and Hunan province (96,300). 

Visitors from the nine Pearl River Delta cities in the Greater Bay Area surged by 36.3% year-on-year to 820,900, and those coming from Zhuhai and Guangzhou soared by 60.6% and 21.5% year-on-year to 248,600 and 161,600 respectively.

Visitor arrivals totaled 3.09 million in June 2019, up by 18.9% year-on-year.

Same-day visitors surged by 35.4% to 1.56 million and overnight visitors increased by 5.7% to 1.52 million.

In the first half of 2019, visitor arrivals reached 20.28 million, up by 20.6% year-on-year. LV