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HK to remain top spot for shopping, MasterCard says

Hong Kong will retain its position as Asia's top shopping capital with tourists tipped to spend at least US$11 billion in the territory by 2011, up from over US$6 billion in 2006, a MasterCard survey showed yesterday.

In second place is Bangkok with shopping slated to hit US$3.5 billion in six years' time from above US$2.0 billion next year, followed by Seoul with US$3.1 billion, also from over US$2.0 billion currently, the global payments firm said.

Singapore takes fourth spot with tourist spending estimated to reach US$2.9 billion by 2011 from around US$2.0 billion in 2006.

"Shopping spend in the four cities is expected to increase by 8.0 percent per year between 2006 and 2011," MasterCard said.

Hong Kong, with its proximity to China, is a favored destination for mainland tourists and is seen as a gateway to the rest of Asia.

"Hong Kong is already repositioning to capitalize on the growing Chinese arrivals market, securing the Cantonese hinterland while cherry-picking the high end spenders from the rest of China," MasterCard said.

With its world-class selection of top brand names from Europe and the US, is able to easily attract high-spending Chinese tourists.

Its chief rival Singapore, which also boasts international luxury retail shops, is working hard to refine its "shopping experience" for tourists but lacks the variety and shopping scale of Hong Kong, Bangkok and Seoul, according to MasterCard.

Bangkok's strength lies in its "unique Thai experience" but relatively poorly developed public transport in the Thai capital is the biggest drawback for tourists, the survey said.
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