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HONG KONG: Human swine flu is severely affecting the travel industry, figures from the Hong Kong Travel Industry Council reveal.

The council reported that levy income for the industry last month was HK$1.44 million, a 45.4 percent drop from a year earlier. The income for the first five months this year was HK$10.15 million,a decline of 21.6 percent from a year earlier.

The number of mainland inbound tour group registrations last month fell 45.6 percent to 2,824 from a year ago.

Air ticket sales were also affected. Total income from selling air tickets dropped 53.5 percent to HK$996 million last month from a year earlier, and the number of transactions also fell 38.3 percent in the same period.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau said the financial crisis and human swine flu has affected the travel sector and related trades.

Overall visitor arrivals in May were 2.02 million, representing a 1.35 percent fall compared to the same period last year. The cumulative visitor arrivals for January to May 2009 totalled 11.86 million, representing a year-on-year drop of 1.4 percent.

The average hotel occupancy rate from January to April was 79 percent, lower than the 84 percent recorded in the same period last year. The decrease was more significant in high-tariff hotels, which saw a 9 percent drop.

Rental for hotel accommodation was 16.3 percent lower than the same period last year.

Total revenue for the catering trade recorded a year-on-year increase of 1.5 percent in value, but a drop of 1.8 percent in volume after discounting price changes.

Hong Kong Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung Yiu-chung said the impact caused by human swine flu was less severe than expected, and the drop in the business of outbound tours has slowed.

He said some travel agencies have lowered the prices for tour packages in the summer.

Lau said the government will closely monitor the impact of human swine flu on the economy.

(HK Edition 06/11/2009 page1)