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Hong Kong wants double digit growth of Indonesian tourists
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo welcomes representatives of Hong Kong Madame Tussauds Hongkong at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Dec. 9, 2016. They sought permission from the President that a wax figure of him could be displayed at its Hong Kong museum. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
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ong Kong plans to increase the number of Indonesian tourists at a double digit rate this year, comparable to the 12.3 percent year-on-year (yoy) growth in 2016 through more Muslim friendly facilities.
Last year, the Chinese special administrative region has seen around 464,406 Indonesian tourists. Hong Kong Tourism Board Southeast Asia regional director Simon Wong said that most of the tourists were mostly comprised of families.
"We hope for high growth from Indonesia again this year," Wong said during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Southeast Asia became an important market for Hong Kong tourism as the number of tourists keeps increasing. Along with Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines also recorded a double digit growth of 12.3 and 12.4 percent yoy respectively reaching an all-time high.
Last year, the tourist arrivals to Hong Kong decreased by 4.5 percent yoy to 56.65 million compared to 59.31 million in 2015. Mostly because of the 6.7 percent yoy decrease of mainland China tourist arrivals to 45.84 million, while the non-mainland China tourists increased by 3.1 percent yoy to 13.88 million.
The tourism board has secured a US$61.8 million budget from the Hong Kong government, and 76 percent of the fund will be used for marketing promotion. This year the promotion campaign is 'Best of All, It’s in Hong Kong', which promotes Hong Kong's culinary, outdoor adventure, as well as the theme parks.
"We are working with tourist agents, airlines as well as influencers for promotion," Wong added. (bbn)
