Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals in package tour totalled 1,120,000 in October 2014, a surge of 56% year-on-year; visitors from Mainland China soared by 75% to 919,000, with those from Guangdong Province (340,000) increasing by 22%. Visitors from Taiwan (66,000) and the Republic of Korea (39,000) increased by 9% and 12% respectively, while those from Hong Kong (31,000) decreased by 10%. In the first ten months of 2014, visitor arrivals in package tour reached 9,986,000, up by 23% year-on-year. Outbound residents using services of travel agencies were 140,000 in October, up by 13% year-on-year; those travelling in package tour totalled 54,000 and the main destinations were Mainland China (69% of total) and Taiwan (13%). In the first ten months of 2014, outbound residents totalled 1,284,000, up by 8% year-on-year. There were 98 hotels and guesthouses operating at the end of October 2014, providing 28,000 guest rooms, up slightly from a year earlier; 5-star hotels accounted for 66% of the total supply, with 18,000 rooms. A total of 863,000 guests checked into hotels and guesthouses in October, up by 4% year-on-year. Guests from Mainland China (557,000) increased by 13%, while those from Hong Kong (98,000) continued to decrease. The average length of stay of guests held stable as October 2013, at 1.4 nights. The average occupancy rate of hotels and guesthouses increased by 3 percentage points year-on-year to 86%, with both 4-star and 5-star hotels leading at 87%. In the first ten months of 2014, hotel guests totalled 8,929,000, up by 1% year-on-year; the average occupancy rate stood at 86%, an increase of 4 percentage points. In the first ten months of 2014, visitor-guests accounted for 69% of the total overnight visitors, down by 1 percentage point year-on-year.
