EUROPE: More Tourists Visit Europe

Italy had more overnight stays by foreign nationals than tourist hotspot France.

The country's government tourist board said there were 216.5 million such stays in 2018 in Italy, compared with 140.7m in France.

Spain, it added, was highest in Europe with 301 million.

It said foreigners spent €41.7 billion in Italy last year, boosting the Italian economy and gross domestic product by 1.5%.

Foreign tourism overall in Italy increased by 2.8% compared to 2017, making up 13% of Italy’s GDP.

Tourism is expected to grow even further as the Chinese market continues to expand.

Chinese tourists continue to put Europe at the top of their favourite destinations despite the relative slow-down in the Chinese economy and any concerns about Brexit, according to the latest figures from the European Travel Commission (ETC) in collaboration with the leading air travel analyst ForwardKeys, which monitors 17 million flight bookings a day.

The data shows there was a 5.1% year-on-year increase in Chinese arrivals in EU destinations during January-December 2018.

The ETC says the latest figures show that the EU-China Tourism Year 2018, designed to promote the EU as a tourism destination to the rapidly-growing Chinese market, continues to deliver success.

Over the course of 2018, the top three EU destinations in terms of volume of Chinese arrivals were the UK ( +2.4%), Germany (+2.6%) and France (+7.7%). The three most growing destinations were Croatia (+45.7%), Estonia (+35.8%) and Hungary (+25.1%).

In the context of Brexit, it is interesting to note that if the UK were excluded from the data, the performance of the EU would look even stronger, with arrivals in the whole of 2018 up 5.8%, as opposed to up 5.1% with the UK included.

Similarly, looking ahead, forward bookings are 17.7% ahead for the period January-April 2019, as opposed to 16.9% with the UK included.

Chinese tourists are continuing to put Europe at the top of their favourite destinations despite the relative slow-down in the Chinese economy and any concerns about Brexit, according to the latest figures from the European Travel Commission (ETC), produced in collaboration with the air travel analyst ForwardKeys.

The data shows there was a 5.1% year-on-year increase in Chinese arrivals in EU destinations during 2018 and ETC says the latest figures show that the EU-China Tourism Year 2018, designed to promote the EU as a tourism destination to the rapidly-growing Chinese market, continues to deliver success.

The 2018 EU-China Tourism Year initiative has been extremely successful. And we continue to see the benefits in 2019, explains Eduardo Santander, executive director of the European Travel Commission.

The growth in Chinese travellers has been solid, and the near future, judging by current bookings, will see the EU continuing to increase its share of this valuable market, not just to traditional destinations, but lesser-known and emerging ones as well,” he adds.

Over the course of 2018, the top three EU destinations in terms of volume of Chinese arrivals were the UK (up 2.4%), Germany (up 2.6%) and France (up 7.7%). The three fastest growing destinations were Croatia (up 45.7%), Estonia (up 35.8%) and Hungary (up 25.1%).

Forward bookings into 2019 also look robust, according to the ForwardKeys analysis of booking data. As of 31-Dec-2018, Chinese bookings to the EU for the first four months of 2019 were 16.9% ahead of where they were at the end of 2017. This compares very favourably to the global trend, which is 9.3% ahead.

In the context of Brexit, it is also interesting to note that if the UK were excluded from the data, the performance of the EU would look even stronger, with arrivals up 5.8%, as opposed to up 5.1% when the UK included.

Similarly, looking ahead, forward bookings are 17.7% ahead for the period January-April 2019, as opposed to 16.9% with the UK included.

The data also shows that Chinese bookings for trips to the EU during the 2019 Chinese New Year season are ahead 9.2% compared to last year – well above the global average of 0.2%.

It also identifies that Chinese travellers are arriving early, two-weeks before the Golden Week. Some return home in time to celebrate New Year, while others are choosing longer stays and celebrate in EU destinations.

This positive near-term outlook echoes a pattern that was seen last year. Then Chinese travel to the EU registered above-global-average performances for the two Golden Week periods in 2018.

Within the EU, Central/Eastern Europe was the fastest growing region, and outperformed the EU average during each of the three busy periods (the two Golden Weeks and the summer school break).

Overall Chinese departures from mainland China were up 5.2% during 2018, and bookings are estimated to be up around 16.7% for January-April 2019.

It is a similar picture for Hong Kong and Macao – up 7.6% for 2018, and ahead 35.4% for the first four months of 2019. Tier-two cities, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Xiamen are showing strong growth: up 18.1% for 2018, with bookings ahead 51.3% in the January-April 2019 period.

Analysis of OAG schedule data from CAPA – Centre for Aviation shows the continued growth in connectivity between China and Europe. Over the first quarter of 2019 the number of available seats from China to Europe is up 12.4% year-on-year.


Tourism Observer

MACAU: Visitor Spending Goes Down Despite Chinese Lunar New Year

Total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) amounted to MOP13.46 billion during the first quarter of 2017, according to information published by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

This represented an increase of 16.6 percent year-on-year and a decline of 9 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2016.

The Chinese Lunar New Year, one of the busiest periods for tourism in Macau, falls during the first quarter of each year, while Golden Week falls during the fourth.

Analyzed by type of tourist, total spending of overnight visitors (MOP10.6 billion) and same-day visitors (MOP2.86 billion) increased by 19.6 percent and 6.7 percent year-on-year, respectively, during the first quarter of 2017.

During the first quarter, per-capita spending of visitors was MOP1,709, up by 10.5 percent year-on-year but down by 6.6 percent quarter-to-quarter.

DSEC said in a statement that the per-capita spending of visitors from mainland China rose by 13.6 percent year-
on-year to MOP2,002, with those from Guangdong Province and Fujian Province spending on average MOP1,630 and MOP1,291.

Per-capita spending of visitors from Singapore (MOP1,825), Malaysia (MOP1,625) and Taiwan (MOP1,607) grew by 11.6 percent, 0.4 percent and 1.8 percent year-on-year, respectively.

On the other hand, per-capita spending of visitors from Australia (MOP1,373), the United States (MOP1,211) and the United Kingdom (MOP1,118) declined.

Visitors spent mainly on shopping (43.7 percent), accommodation (26.9 percent) and food and beverage (21.3 percent).

Per-capita shopping spending increased by 10.4 percent year-on-year to MOP747, of which spending on local food products (MOP233) and cosmetics and fragrances (MOP201) rose by 4.5 percent and 36.9 percent respectively.

Analyzed by purpose of visit, those coming to Macau for MICE events had the highest per-capita spending at MOP3,286, up by 4.9 percent year-on-year, followed by shopping (MOP2,468), up by 19 percent.

The former category accounted for 0.5 percent of total visitors, while the latter constituted 10.8 percent.

Separately, the results of the Visitors’ Comments Survey showed a decrease in visitor satisfaction with all aspects of services and facilities in Macau during the first quarter of 2017.

Most notably, the proportion of visitors who were satisfied with public transport services dropped 1 percentage point quarter-to-quarter to 68.2 percent. DB

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry Is Flexible

The three-day Labour Day “golden week” saw surprising figures, with the number of travellers up on last year, although most came as individuals rather than in tour groups.

Public holidays on the mainland are a good indicator of the state of Hong Kong’s tourism industry. With 80 per cent of visitors being mainlanders, breaks such as the recent three-day Labour Day “golden week” offer insight into the effectiveness of policies and promotions.

The vacation gleaned surprising figures, with the number of travellers up on the same time last year, although the majority came as individuals rather than in tour groups, and then largely on day trips that meant a drop in hotel occupancy rates. More data is needed to reach meaningful conclusions, but a clear message is the need to be adaptable to trends.

The US dollar peg makes Hong Kong’s retail sector vulnerable to the whims of shoppers; a recent decline in value against other currencies could partly explain the 7.1 per cent year-on-year rise in mainland visitor numbers during the holiday. So far this year, figures are up 2.5 per cent.

But a three-day break also limits travel plans, which makes our city favourable for day trips, especially for those living in Guangdong province.
Tour groups have long been the lifeblood of the hotel sector, ensuring room occupancy rates as high as 90 per cent. This Labour Day, though, numbers more than halved despite discounts and special packages.

One reason for a decline could be the negative publicity from forced shopping excursions. But Hong Kong is also a compact city with an excellent public transport system, a perfect fit for visitors with their own itinerary or mainland tourists who have become seasoned travellers. Technology has also brought alternatives to hotels through websites like Airbnb, especially popular among the young and budget-conscious.

Tourism is one of our four pillar industries, accounting for almost 5 per cent of GDP and about 7 per cent of employment. But as much as tourism-related industries would like visitor numbers to be on a constant upward swing, arrivals are determined by economic conditions, mainland policies, attractions and, in recent years, public sentiment.

Responding to growing anger against districts crowded by mainland shoppers, particularly parallel traders, the government last year won Beijing’s support to end multi-entry visas for Shenzhen residents.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said this week there were no plans to relax or drop the restriction, which limits visits to one a month.

MALAYSIA: Visa Blunder Cost Malaysia ‘golden’ Chinese Tourists

Previous holiday periods had seen thousands of Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia.

Thousands of Chinese tourists are believed to have been unable to visit Malaysia from Oct 1 to 7, dubbed the “Golden Week” in China because of its national day, due to an alleged slip-up from the Home Ministry which failed to inform its Chinese counterparts of a visa-free facility.

This apparently led to the tourists being stopped at airports in China and told they could not leave for Malaysia as they did not have visas.

Tourism Malaysia chairman Wee Choo Keong, who disclosed this yesterday, said the Home Ministry only gave the green light on Sept 28 for the visa-free facility to be implemented, giving everyone concerned only 72 hours to prepare for the tourists.

“Chinese airport authorities were apparently unaware of the new facility and did not allow Chinese tourists to leave for Malaysia,” he said.

Wee said the poor preparation for the implementation of the visa-free facility had cost the country dearly as the tourists did not get to spend their money here.

“It was a week-long holiday for them and they would have been happy visiting Malaysia. But it turned out otherwise,’” he added.

The Golden Week has in the past seen thousands of Chinese tourists landing here over the period.

In June, Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz had announced the Cabinet had agreed to implement the visa-free facility that would allow Chinese tour groups to stay in Malaysia for 15 days from Sept 1.

But this was postponed to Oct 1 to ensure guidelines were in place.

Earlier yesterday, 37 Malaysia Inbound Tourism Association members told reporters they had incurred losses running into millions of ringgit because of the cancellation of bookings by Chinese tour groups.

Association secretary-general Mint Leong said travel agents in China had also decided to call off group tours because of problems related to the visa-free facility.

She said nearly 250 groups of 20 each was to have arrived here but most cancelled because of the hiccup.

She suggested the Home Ministry resolve the matter immediately so Chinese tourists continue to visit Malaysia.

“Our currency is not at its best, and we should be encouraging more Chinese tourists to spend their money in Malaysia as they are known to be the big spenders,” she said.

Leong also suggested the Home Ministry bring back the visa-on-arrival facility for Chinese tourists, which was halted last year.

HONGKONG: Don’t Put All Our Eggs In One Basket

Hotel industry leader says Hong Kong is ‘at a crossroads’ and needs to target new sources of growth, despite more visitors over ‘golden week’

Hong Kong’s tourism industry is “at a crossroads” and needs to target new sources of growth as mainlanders lose interest in the city, an industry leader said yesterday, despite the commerce minister announcing visitor numbers over the National Day holiday were up on last year.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung said the number of inbound tourists climbed 3.4 per cent year on year between October 1 and 5 to reach one million, and mainland visitors were up 4.3 per cent.

Despite the growth, the hotel industry urged the government to target new sources of tourists to save the slumping tourism and hospitality industry

“Golden week”, the holiday that follows National Day on October 1, ends today. So was reluctant to draw any conclusions from the growing number of visitors in the period.

“The arrivals data might be affected by weather and a recent examination held in Hong Kong … It may seem that there are fewer shoppers on the streets. It definitely put pressure on retailers,” So said. “We still cannot jump to the conclusion that the slump has reversed.”


Michael Li Hon-shing, executive director of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, said on a radio show yesterday the tourism industry was “at a crossroads” as mainlanders, who make up 80 per cent of arrivals, are losing interest in the city.

“We should not put all our eggs in one basket,” Li said.

He advised the industry not to rely solely on mainlanders but look to overseas tourists to boost retail sales and hotel occupancy, and target business travellers and exhibitors.

Li even suggested turning the city into an “examination hub”.

“When students across the border come to sit examinations like the SAT or Toefl, their parents would probably come along and stay for a couple of nights for education seminars,” Li said.

He added that as well as the AsiaWorld-Expo, Kowloon East or Kowloon West could also host examination venues.

More than 10,000 mainland pupils sat the SAT tests, widely used for admission to universities in the United States, at the AsiaWorld-Expo on Friday, which boosted year-on-year growth of mainland tourists to 16.2 per cent for October 1 and 22.3 per cent for October 2.

Li said hotel occupancy in the city dropped slightly during the National Day holiday, but the period was still profitable. He expected that upon the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, many visitors will only transit through the city instead of staying overnight.

The Hong Kong Retail Management Association said most of its member companies had seen single-digit or low double-digit growth in sales value during “golden week”.