Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the 2nd Quarter 2010

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the second quarter of 2010 rose by 12.29% year-on-year to 164.04. The price indices of Miscellaneous Goods; Accommodation; Clothing & Footwear; Food, Alcoholic Drinks & Tobacco; Transport & Communications; and Restaurant Services increased notably by 23.48%, 17.38%, 8.69%, 6.22%, 6.09% and 4.79% respectively, attributable to dearer prices of gold jewellery, men’s clothing, alcoholic drinks and tobacco, rising hotel room rates and airfares, as well as higher charges for restaurant services. On the contrary, price index of Entertainment & Cultural Activities registered a slight decrease of 0.05% year-on-year. The second quarter TPI went up by 1.38% quarter-to-quarter, of which the price indices of Miscellaneous Goods; Clothing & Footwear; and Food, Alcoholic Drinks & Tobacco increased by 6.01%, 2.86% and 2.17% respectively, on account of rising prices of gold jewellery, men’s clothing, alcoholic drinks and tobacco. On the other hand, price index of Accommodation decreased by 10.60% as a result of lower hotel room rates compared with the first quarter. The average TPI for the last 4 quarters ended the second quarter of 2010 increased by 8.45% over the previous period, with marked increase observed in the indices of Miscellaneous Goods (+19.45%); Accommodation (+10.72%); and Food, Alcoholic Drinks & Tobacco (+5.16%). For the first half year of 2010, TPI went up by 10.84% year-on-year, of which the price indices of Miscellaneous Goods and Accommodation rose significantly by 21.40% and 14.29%, respectively. TPI reflects the price changes of goods and services purchased by visitors, which is compiled according to the consumption pattern of visitors. TPI covers 8 sections of goods and services, namely Food, Alcoholic Drinks & Tobacco; Clothing & Footwear; Accommodation; Restaurant Services; Transport & Communications; Medicine & Personal Goods; Entertainment & Cultural Activities; and Miscellaneous Goods. The base period of TPI is from July 1999 to June 2000.