Government figures showed that mainland tourist arrivals to the city continued to expand in 2012 amidst global economic uncertainties. In the first eight months, a total of 31.6 million tourists from the mainland have visited the city, outstripping the 28.1 million number registered last year, which now also accounts for over 70 percent of the total visito rs to the city.
At the same time, mainland visitors' average spending reached HK$8,200 ($1,058) in Hong Kong in 2011 - 30 percent more than visitors from other countries and economies for the period, who are more "generous spenders" in the city as indicated in the white paper.
The research paper also highlighted the importance of outbound tourism spending to the city's economic growth, especially those from the mainland.
The shopping expenditure of mainland visitors in the first half of 2012 reached HK$61.5 billion, compared with the HK$110.8 billion for the whole year of 2011, which represents some 28 percent of Hong Kong's total retail sales, and about 6 percent of the city's GDP .
Jones Lang LaSalle said it remains optimistic about the outlook of Hong Kong's retail market, projecting that the numbers of mainland visitors will grow by between 10 to 15 percent per year, along with the income growth which will also translate into higher spending in the city.
It, nevertheless, forecasts that retail property prices will further float in Hong Kong after retail rents in the market, especially those across prime locations like Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui, have surged tremendously, along with the city's total retail sales growth which have achieved a compound increase of 13.1 percent during the 2007 and 2011 period.
'Gangnam style' life of young rich in Chongqing
Feedback
RSS
