Hong Kong tourism industry is now looking towards the Chinese mainland market and adjusting its marketing strategies to lure more and more tourists.
The Hong Kong tourism board stated that it is presently targeting the Chinese mainland market; therefore, it is making necessary adjustments in its marketing strategies rather than relying merely on the events such as the East Asian Games, and the food and wine carnivals.
In 2008, Hong Kong recorded 29.5 Million tourist arrivals, up 4.7% from 2007; however, tourist arrivals declined 0.9% in Q4 2008. In the same period, tourist arrivals from Chinese mainland surged 8.9% to 16.86 Million, with most of them coming from the Pearl River Delta region. As per the tourism board’s projections, tourist arrivals may decline 1.6% in 2009. Moreover, the growth of 4.1% and 0.4% in the mainland and short-haul markets respectively would be offset by a 12.4% decline in the long-haul markets.
Hong Kong is planned to host an international food exposition as well as a wine fair in the second half of 2009. Besides, the East Asian Games are scheduled to be held in Hong Kong in November 2009. These events may provide a golden opportunity to the Hong Kong tourism industry to grow. Further, successfully hosted Olympics and Paralympic Equestrian has placed Hong Kong in the highly dignified “Olympic Cities” league. However, attracting tourists from Mainland China is a big challenge and the situation may get worse with the deepening recession and unfavorable conditions in coming months
Furthermore, Hong Kong tourism board is making immense efforts to explore the market beyond the Guangdong Province. It is working intensely on cruise tours and has set up a department aimed to promote the state as an exhibition and convention center.
However, the earthquake in Sichuan and the snowstorm in the mainland coupled with the global economic recession have posed major threats to both inbound and outbound tourism markets in Hong Kong.
According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “the Hong Kong tourism sector has been able to register positive growth amid the economic turmoil. With the Hong Kong tourism board taking a number of steps, including adjustments in its marketing strategies and spending half of its resources on the marketing in the mainland, the industry is likely to be benefited and grow significantly in future.”
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