Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals in package tour totalled 1,028,000 in September 2014, up by 9% year-on-year. Visitors from Mainland China increased by 11% to 840,000, with 330,000 coming from Guangdong Province, up by 21%. Visitors from Taiwan (62,000) increased by 10%, while those from the Republic of Korea (34,000) and Hong Kong (34,000) decreased by 4% and 5% respectively. In the first three quarters of 2014, visitor arrivals in package tour reached 8,825,000, up by 19% year-on-year. Outbound residents using services of travel agencies were 124,000 in September, up by 12% year-on-year; those travelling in package tour totalled 43,000 and the main destinations were Mainland China (74% of total), the Republic of Korea (7%) and Taiwan (7%). In the first three quarters of 2014, outbound residents totalled 1,146,000, up by 7% year-on-year. There were 98 hotels and guesthouses operating at the end of September 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 852,000 guests checked into hotels and guesthouses in September, down by 1% year-on-year. Guests from Hong Kong (102,000) and Taiwan (31,000) decreased by 25% and 15% respectively, while those from Mainland China (547,000) increased by 6%. The average length of stay of guests was 1.4 nights, up by 0.1 night year-on-year. The average occupancy rate of hotels and guesthouses increased by 2 percentage points year-on-year to 85%, with 4-star hotels leading at 87%. In the first three quarters of 2014, hotel guests totalled 8,066,000, up by 1% year-on-year; the average occupancy rate stood at 86%, an increase of 4 percentage points. In the first three quarters of 2014, visitor-guests accounted for 69% of the total overnight visitors, down by 1 percentage point year-on-year.
