visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in 2011 reached a new record of 41.92 million

Breaking its 2010 record, visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in 2011 reached a staggering 41.92 million, a 16.4 percent increase from the previous year.

Overall arrival numbers of approximately 28.10 million came from Mainland China an increase of 23.9 percent from the last year, Asia Travel Tips reported.

The domestic regions contributed another 9.05 million, representing a 4.6 percent increase year-on-year. Amongst these, South Korea and Southeast Asia recorded growth of 14.7 percent and 9.3 percent respectively, which made up for the 2.4 percent decrease in Japanese arrivals resulted by the earthquake and Tsunami.

As for the International regions, visitor arrivals increased by 1.7 percent to 4.77 million, of the total Mainland arrivals, 52.7 percent or 14.8 million were same-day visitors, an increase of 34.5 percent than in 2010.

Overnight visitors also increased by 13.9 percent to 13.3 million from the same period the year before.

Hong Kong Tourism Board Chairman (HKTB) Mr James Tien said they are encouraged by the healthy performance of their tourism industry in 2011.

“Not only did our visitor arrivals reach a historic high of almost 42 million, but our tourism receipts would also likely surpass HK$250 billion,” Mr Tien said.

“These wonderful results would not have been possible without the teamwork and collaboration of our tourism industry partners.

“In particular, we are grateful for the support of the SAR Government and various sectors of the community, who have rendered great assistance in the mega events staged by HKTB.”