A new survey has shown that mainland Chinese tourists are showing a preference for the outdoor attractions of Singapore, Australia, and Japan over Hong Kong. Tourists from the mainland regard Hong Kong as primarily a place for short visits only.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Kantar, a consultancy company, recently conducted a survey among 300 Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen residents. Of those who responded, 38 percent expressed a preference for Singapore as their choice for where to spend their holidays. Australia was the choice for 52 percent of the respondents, while 40 percent chose Japan.
Only 35 percent of those surveyed expressed a preference for Hong Kong.
Other respondents expressed the desire to visit Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, and India.
The report from Kantar, which was released in January, said that would-be holidaymakers from mainland China look for diverse experiences, with ninety percent stating that having a variety of choices of activities is important to them.
It goes on to say, “The dominance of nature in the minds of urban Chinese leisure travelers may, at face value, present a challenge for retailers, malls, theme parks, and other places.”
Despite their preferences, tourists from mainland China continue to visit Hong Kong in droves. In 2018, Hong Kong was visited by 65.1 million people, an all-time high for the city. Seventy-eight percent, or 51 million, were from mainland China, which means that 140,000 mainland Chinese arrived daily, showing a rise of nearly 15 percent from 2017.
However, SCMP reports that Hong Kong’s Tourism Board believes this year could be “bumpy and unpredictable,” with mainlander visitors now perceiving Hong Kong to only be a place for short-term visits while preferring to go to South East Asia or Europe for longer holidays.
Additionally, according to the report, “Hong Kong outperforms Singapore on most factors, but when it comes to perceptions of safety and cleanliness, Singapore dominates all [Asia-Pacific] markets, though it is held back by its lack of nature and outdoor [activities].”
https://theindependent.sg.sg/chinese-vs-chinese-hk-activists-protest-number-of-mainland-visitors-please-stop-coming-to-hong-kong/