The number of visitors arriving in the SAR on package tours totalled some 905,000 in August, according to the package tours and hotel occupancy rate for that month’s data released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) yesterday. Despite the fact that it represents an increase of 8 per cent vis-a-vis July, it’s still a 20.5 per cent drop compared to the same period of last year. Mainland China package tourists are the biggest chunk, totalling 777,000 but it still represents a decrease of 17.2 per cent year-on-year; while those from Taiwan (46,000), Hong Kong (21,000), the Republic of Korea (13,000) and Japan (11,000) plunged 33.6 per cent, 25.3 per cent, 65.5 per cent and 22.5 per cent, respectively. The latest data from DSEC also indicates that in the first eight months of 2015, visitors on package tours totalled 6,685,000, down 5.4 per cent year-on-year. In addition, those arriving on package tours (excluding visitors joining local tours) decreased 3.6 per cent to 5,609,000. Dropping occupancy rate Not surprisingly, as visitor arrivals drop and package tour visitor numbers decrease, the local hospitality industry has experienced decline. DSEC data shows that in August the average occupancy rate of hotels and guesthouses was 84.4 per cent, down 5.6 percentage points year-on-year. In point of fact, the number of guests checking into hotels and guesthouses reached 999,000, up 3.6 per cent year-on-year. Guests from Mainland China (652,000) and Hong Kong (156,000) increased 2.1 per cent and 24.7 per cent, respectively. The decline in occupancy rate may be explained by the increasing number of guest rooms in town. According to DSEC, some 102 hotels and guesthouses were operating as at the end of August 2015, providing 30,000 guest rooms, up 7.2 per cent compared to the same period last year. The number of guest rooms in 5-star hotels totals 20,000, accounting for 66.6 per cent of the total supply. The average length of stay of guests was as stable as August 2014, at 1.4 nights. Fewer outbound residents Information from DSEC also indicates that outbound residents using the services of travel agencies totalled 142,000 in August 2015, down 8.6 per cent year-on-year; those travelling on package tours increased 6.5 per cent to 59,000, with the main destinations Mainland China (82.6 per cent of total), Taiwan (6.5 per cent ) and Hong Kong (3.6 per cent). From January to August, outbound residents using the services of travel agencies totalled 1,012,000, up 0.1 per cent year-on-year.
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