August visitor arrivals climb 21%

Hong Kong saw a 21% year-on-year rise in visitors in August, reaching 4.9 million, said the Tourism Board.

Some 3.72 million came from the Mainland, up 28%. Of these, 67% or 2.5 million travelled under the Individual Visit Scheme, up 28% on August last year.

Short-haul arrivals recorded a 4% year-on-year increase. Those from the North Asia, South & Southeast Asia, and Taiwan grew 7.9%, 3.1% and 0.1%.

Long-haul arrivals fell 3.8%. Those from the Europe, Africa & the Middle East markets decreased 4.5%, while those from the Americas and the Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific markets fell 3.7% and 1.7%.

For the first eight months of the year, total arrivals stood at 31.6 million, up 16% on the same period last year.