Tourism in Hong Kong

Several tourists looking at the night view of the Victoria Harbour at Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

Peak Tram can reach Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island

Victoria Harbour at night from Victoria Peak

Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum on Hong Kong Island

Star Ferry Pier, Central on Hong Kong Island

The Clock Tower at Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

Hong Kong Museum of History and Hong Kong Science Museum

Chi Lin Nunnery at Diamond Hill, Kowloon

The Tin Hau Temple at Sok Kwu Wan, on Lamma Island

The tourism industry has been an important part of the economy of Hong Kong since it shifted to a service sector model in the late 1980s and early 90s. There has been a sharp increase of tourists from Mainland China, due to the introduction of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) in 2003.

Background

The total tourism expenditure associated to inbound tourism reached HK$117.3 billion in 2006. According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) Overall visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in 2010 totalled just over 36 million, a 21.8% increase over the previous year. The numbers included approximately 22.5 million mainland Chinese arrivals, 8.2 million short-haul (excluding Mainland) arrivals, and 4.8 million long-haul arrivals. In July 2011 more than 3.8 million visitors arrived in Hong Kong, equivalent to more than half Hong Kong's population and setting an outright record for a single month.

Along with the strong growth in the number of Mainland visitors, most other long and short-haul markets are also performing healthily with double-digit growth over 2006. Among long-haul markets, Europe, Africa and the Middle East took the lead with arrivals of 1,916,861, an 11.1% increase that made this Hong Kong's best-performing market region in 2006.

While facing increasing competition from Mainland cities and Macau, the Hong Kong Tourism Board works closely with authorities and trade to make Hong Kong an essential component in all combo and multi-destination itineraries.

Tourism, along with international trade and financial services are the three main sources of income for Hong Kong.

Accommodation and length of stay

In December 2006, there were 612 hotels and tourist guest houses in Hong Kong, with 52,512 rooms. The average occupancy rate across all categories of hotels and tourist guesthouses was 87% for the whole of 2006, a one-percentage-point growth compared with 2005 in spite of the 7.4% increase in Hong Kong's room supply between December 2005 and December 2006. During 2006, 62.7% of all visitors stayed one night or longer, which is a trend reflecting Hong Kong's increasing importance as a regional transport hub.

Tourism Commission

The Tourism Commission was established in May 1999 to promote Hong Kong as Asia's premier international city for all visitors. A Tourism Strategy Group, comprising representatives from the Government, the HKTB and various sectors of the tourism industry has been established to advise the Government on tourism development from a strategic perspective.

Attractions and facilities

Almost any of the districts of Hong Kong can be considered a tourist destination. The following locations are areas generally marked as main attractions.

Hong Kong Island

Victoria Peak Victoria Harbour Star Ferry Pier, Central Lan Kwai Fong Soho Stanley Repulse Bay Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum Ocean Park Hong Kong

Kowloon

Including New Kowloon

Hong Kong Art Museum Avenue of Stars Clock Tower Chungking Mansions

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre Hong Kong History Museum Hong Kong Science Museum Hong Kong International Hobby and Toy Museum Hong Kong Observatory

Kowloon Park Nathan Road Ocean Terminal The Peninsula Hotel Temple Street Ladies' Market

Hong Kong Science Museum Hong Kong Space Museum Star Ferry Pier, Kowloon Wong Tai Sin Temple Chi Lin Nunnery

New Territories

Including the Outlying Islands

Che Kung Temple Cheung Chau Lamma Island Hong Kong Disneyland Resort Hong Kong Heritage Museum

Hong Kong Railway Museum Hong Kong Wetland Park Ngong Ping 360

Ping Shan Tai O Tian Tan Buddha Ting Kau Bridge

Tsing Ma Bridge Tung Chung Fort Sai Kung

Festivals

• Chinese New Year

Accessing Hong Kong

To facilitate entry of visitors, various measures were introduced in 2002. The quota of the Hong Kong Tour Group Scheme of Mainland visitors has been abolished since January 2002. The number of Mainland travel agents authorised to organise such tours has also increased significantly. Nationals from some 170 countries can visit Hong Kong visa free for period from seven days to 180 days. The Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) was introduced on 28 July 2003. The Scheme has been gradually extended and now covers Guangdong province, Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Tianjin and nine cities in Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In 2006, over 6.6 million Mainland citizens travelled to Hong Kong under the IVS, which is 20.2% more than 2005.

Promotion

The HKTB continues to promote the destination to business and leisure travelers through its worldwide “Hong Kong – Live it, Love it!” campaign. Leveraging on the opening of several new attractions from 2005 onwards, the HKTB has designated 2006 as "Discover Hong Kong Year". The global marketing campaign makes use of a series of strategic promotions to showcase the new image of Hong Kong and promote it as a “must-visit” destination in 2006. The HKTB has already started promotions to the travel trade in May 2005 and will roll out consumer promotions worldwide in late 2005. Aloagreement, a series of joint overseas marketing initiatives is being conducted with Macau and the nine provincial tourism bureaus concerned.

See also

• Amusement parks in Hong Kong
• Beaches of Hong Kong
• Culture of Hong Kong
• Declared monuments of Hong Kong
• Hong Kong Country Parks & Special Areas
• List of areas of Hong Kong
• List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong
• Museums in Hong Kong
• Shopping in Hong Kong
• Tourism in China
• Transportation in Hong Kong
• Visitor Attractions in Hong Kong

External links

• Template:Wikitravel
• Hong Kong Tourism Board
• Local travel guide, Home Affairs Department
• Tourism Satellite Account for Inbound Tourism of Hong Kong - Census and Statistics Department