No end to mainlander tsunami flooding Hong Kong

Hong Kong can expect 15% more Mainland tourists every year.

It will remain the top destination for mainland tourists because of its tax-free retail sales, closeness to the mainland and reputation for quality products, according to a report by property firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

“The growth of Chinese visitor arrivals in Hong Kong has tracked well with China’s economic growth,” said the report.

“We expect, at least for the upcoming years, that Hong Kong will continue to enjoy a 10 to 15 per cent growth in Chinese visitor arrivals per year.”

Four of 10 mainland tourists who travel abroad visit Hong Kong. In 2011, Hong Kong welcomed 42 million tourists.

In the first half this year, a total of 15.5 million mainland tourists came to Hong Kong, up 23% year-on-year. Tourist arrivals in 2010 were up 21.4% from 2009.

In 2011, the shopping expenditures of mainlanders accounted for 27%, or HK$110.8 billion, of Hong Kong’s total retail sales. That is almost 6% of the city’s GDP.

Mainland tourists to Hong Kong are also big spenders, said the report, spending an average of HK$8,200 each, 30% more than visitors from other countries.

Over the last few months, however, Hong Kong has seen an increase in anti-mainland sentiment fueled by the tsunami of tourists and mainlanders snapping up property and driving prices up.