Hong Kong tourist arrivals grow 22% in August

China arrivals rose 27.7% to 2.37mln while South Korea arrivals rose 35.7% due to won appreciation.

Hong Kong welcomed 3.46 million visitors in August, a 21.9% year-on-year rise due to a 30% surge in Mainland arrivals, the Tourism Board says.

Mainland and other short-haul visitor arrivals reached 9,211,347, a 30.9% rise on last year.

Mainland arrivals rose 27.7% to 2.37 million, the highest level ever. It was due to the peak summer travel season and the implementation of individual visit arrangements for Shenzhen residents.

There was a 20.1% rise in arrivals from South and Southeast Asia due to more frequent flights and summer promotions. Arrivals from South Korea rose 35.7% due to the appreciation of the won currency.

With a stabilising economic environment and increasing business travellers, long-haul arrivals grew 5.9%. Russia and India arrivals rose 84% and 41.4%.

There were more than 1.95 million overnight visitors.