Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that visitor arrivals in package tour increased by 35% year-on-year to 1,158,000 in July 2014, attributable to a 39% surge in visitors from Mainland China (946,000), with 367,000 coming from Guangdong Province. Visitors from Taiwan (75,000) and Japan (12,000) increased by 28% and 23% respectively, and those from the Republic of Korea (27,000) also registered a slight growth. On the contrary, visitors from Hong Kong (34,000) and Thailand (12,000) decreased by 5% and 22% respectively. In the first seven months of 2014, visitor arrivals in package tour reached 6,546,000, up by 19% year-on-year. Outbound residents using services of travel agencies were 158,000 in July, up by 26% year-on-year; those travelling in package tour totalled 53,000 and the main destinations were Mainland China (76% of total), Taiwan (7%) and the Republic of Korea (6%). In the first seven months of 2014, outbound residents totalled 867,000, up by 5% year-on-year. There were 99 hotels and guesthouses operating at the end of July 2014, providing 28,000 guest rooms, up by 1% year-on-year; 5-star hotels accounted for 66% of the total supply, with 18,000 rooms. A total of 939,000 guests checked into hotels and guesthouses in July, up by 3% year-on-year, with those from Mainland China (614,000) rising by 13%; guests staying in 5-star hotels accounted for 59% of the total. The average length of stay of guests held stable as July 2013, at 1.3 nights. The average occupancy rate of hotels and guesthouses increased by 2 percentage points year-on-year to 87%, with 5-star hotels leading at 88%. In the first seven months of 2014, hotel guests totalled 6,247,000, up by 2% year-on-year; the average occupancy rate stood at 86%, an increase of 6 percentage points. In the first seven months of 2014, visitor-guests accounted for 70% of the total overnight visitors, down by 1 percentage point year-on-year.
