Mainland tourists spend an average HK$12,000 per person on each visit to Hong Kong, with more than HK$2,300 spent on cosmetic products alone, a report released Monday by market research firm Nielsen Company revealed.

According to the report, mainland tourists plan to spend HK$12,000 each on their visits to the city, with 59 percent of their travel expenses allocated to shopping. Of the shopping budget, 33 percent of it will be spent on cosmetics, 22 percent on electronics/photographic products, 22 percent on clothing and 17 percent on jewelry/watches. That means that approximately HK$2,300 is spent by mainland tourists on cosmetic products.

Meanwhile, Sa Sa International Holdings Limited, the leading local cosmetics retailing group, said that mainland tourists continue to be the major customers for their operations in Hong Kong and Macao.

The cosmetics retailing group, on its corporate website, reported that the company's retail sales in Hong Kong and Macao for the first week of Chinese New Year rose 16 percent year-on-year compared with the corresponding period last year.

Simon Kwok, Sa Sa chairman and chief executive officer, attributed the sales increase to store traffic increase generated from mainland visitors as well as an improvement in consumer sentiment.

"We will continue to enrich our product offerings and strengthen our marketing efforts, so as to build upon our core competencies and competitiveness relating to products and service," Kwok said in a company statement on the website.

The Nielsen Company conducted a face-to-face survey in fourth quarter of 2010 to gauge mainland tourists' purchase patterns and experiences in Hong Kong.

The report also revealed that 47 percent of mainland tourists consult online platforms, while 31 percent of respondents rely on online advertising in planning their trips to the city.

"With the high percentage of mainland tourists planning their purchases prior to arrival into Hong Kong and given their high engagement with online platforms, there is an opportunity for local retailers to create targeted brand awareness programs by advertising on blogs and forums to maximize the reach to their potential consumers," said Troy Yang, vice president of the Nielsen Company Hong Kong.

According to the Nielsen Company, mainland tourists in Hong Kong in 2010 reached 22.7 million, representing a growth of 26.3 percent compared with 2009.

China Daily

(HK Edition 02/22/2011 page2)