Read previous Global Hotel Network (SM) Reports:
21 January: The State of the Latin America Hospitality Industry; 12 November: The State of Asia Pacific’s Hospitality Industry; 25 October: Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Sentiments; 25 October: Canadian Hotel Financing Trends; 24 September: US Hotel Finance Market; 20 August: Curitiba; 6 August: San Diego; 23 July: Poland; 9 July: Europe; 25 June: Caribbean; 11 June: Asia Pacific; 24 May: UK; 14 May: US; 18 April: Barcelona; 9 April: Perth; 3 April: West Los Angeles / Santa Monica; 27 March: Sydney; 12 March: Lagos & Abuja; 5 March: Prague; 26 February: Seoul; 19 February: Bahamas; 12 February: Calgary; 5 February: Beirut; 29 January: London; 22 January: Hong Kong; 15 January: Phoenix; 11 January: French Riviera; 5 January: Jaipur; 18 December: Geneva; 12 December: Boston; 4 December: Mumbai; 27 November: Tokyo; 22 November: Las Vegas; 17 November: Shanghai; 6 November: Budapest; 30 October: Kuala Lumpur / Penang; 23 October: Lisbon; 20 October: Buenos Aires; 13 October: Madrid; 4 October: New York City; 27 September: Jakarta/Bali; 20 September: Manila; 14 September: Dubai; 7 September: Montreal; 31 August: Los Angeles; 22 August: Cancun; 15 August: Adelaide; 8 August: Istanbul; 1 August: Brasilia; 24 July: Cairo; 17 July: Jerusalem; 6 July: Delhi.
26 February, 2002:
This Global Hotel Network® Report takes a look at ‘The Impact Of September 11 On Hong Kong’s Hospitality Industry’ from the perspective of Clara Chong, Executive Director, Hong Kong Tourism Board.
Clara Chong explains:
Hong Kong has been more fortunate than many destinations in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks as we have the huge, and largely unaffected, Mainland China market at our doorstep. While other source markets were still in the doldrums, arrivals from the Mainland registered nearly 30% growth in the fourth quarter of 2001 alone, reaching 4.48 million for the full year.
Nevertheless, after hitting a low point (3.3% decline) in October, all markets made a faster-than-expected recovery in November and December. Indeed, in December, Hong Kong welcomed its highest-ever number of visitors in a single month, 1.3 million. For the full year, arrivals grew 5.1% to a record 13.7 million, a far better performance than anyone could have hoped for three months earlier.
In the light of these market dynamics, Hong Kong’s hospitality industry has experienced mixed fortunes in the post September 11 period. Top tariff hotels that cater mainly for long-haul and business traffic, and were already operating below the previous year’s occupancy levels, were predictably the worst affected and saw occupancy dip further, to as low as 67% in September. They recovered to 74% for the year as a whole, which is still some way below the 82% of 2000, although not that low by world standards for top-tier hotels.
On the other hand, those medium-tariff hotels that cater particularly to Mainland Chinese and other short-haul visitors have cont
