Tourism Board welcomes Michelin Guide
Responding to Michelin’s announcement that Hong Kong has been chosen for the publication of a Michelin Guide, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board Anthony Lau said he warmly welcomes the selection, which certainly will further enhance Hong Kong’s international profile, and reinforce the city’s image as a gourmet paradise.
“Through our various communication channels and promotional activities, we will actively publicize that our city’s quality restaurants and hotels are featured in the Michelin Guide,” Mr. Lau added. “Our aim is to arouse visitors’ interest in visiting Hong Kong and exploring our city’s diverse gastronomic and leisure experiences.”
Hong Kong voted best business city in NE Asia
Hong Kong has been voted the “Best Business City in Northeast Asia” in the annual readers’ poll organized by Business Traveller Asia Pacific, a travel magazine for frequent business travelers in the region. Destinations in the same category include mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Macau and Taiwan.
Business Traveller Asia Pacific magazine has organized the readers’ survey annually since 1993 by polling its subscribers. About 7,800 subscribers responded to its 2008 survey, with nearly half voting for Hong Kong as the best business city in Northeast Asia.
Visitor arrivals in August reach 2.67 million
Figures released September 29 by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) show that visitor arrivals in August 2008 reached 2,679,092, or 2.9% less compared to August 2007. This brings cumulative arrivals for the first eight months of 2008 to 19,573,971, or 7.3% ahead of the same period last year.
With the exception of mainland China, long- and short-haul market regions recorded a drop in arrivals in August 2008, continuing to be affected by a combination of factors in the macro environment, such as the economic downturn and the Mainland’s visa policy adjustment. As for the Mainland, arrivals grew by 0.8% to 1,699,309, largely due to many Mainland visitors staying home during the Olympics. The summary of visitor arrivals from different market regions:
- Mainland China: 1,699,309 (+0.8%)
- Taiwan: 213,552 (-0.4%)
- North Asia: 197,233 (-2.9%)
- South and Southeast Asia: 188,345 (-13.6%)
- Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific: 47,746 (-15.7%)
- The Americas: 109,931 (-15.8%)
- Europe, Africa and the Middle East: 143,928 (-20.5%)
Out of the total Mainland arrivals in August 2008, 1,079,592 or 63.5% arrived under the Individual Visit Scheme. This is 2.6% more than in August 2007. Cumulatively, there were 6,454,642 arrivals under the Individual Visit Scheme in the first eight months of 2008, 13.1% more than for the same period in 2007.
About 60.4% of all visitors to Hong Kong in August stayed in the city for at least one night, or 4.2 percentage points lower than for the same month last year. The remaining 39.6% same-day in-town visitors either returned home or left for another destination on the same day as arrival.
Hotel occupancy across all categories of hotels in August 2008 was 85%, six percentage points lower than in August 2007. The average achieved hotel room rate across all hotel categories was US$141.92 or 6.2% higher than in August 2007.
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