Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that the Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the first quarter of 2009 rose by 1.45% year-on-year to 147.91. The price indices of Clothing & Footwear; Food, Alcoholic Drinks & Tobacco; and Restaurant Service surged significantly by 12.11%, 9.71% and 7.55% respectively, which was attributable to increasing prices of men’s and ladies’ clothing, and alcoholic beverages, as well as rising charges for restaurant service. On the contrary, the price index of Accommodation registered a year-on-year decrease of 5.95%.

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2008, TPI went up by 1.88% in this quarter. The price index of Miscellaneous Goods increased by 7.20% due to dear prices of jewellery led by rising gold prices; besides, the price indices of Clothing & Footwear and Accommodation rose by 3.37% and 2.65% respectively. However, the price index of Transport & Communications fell by 3.72%.

The average TPI for the last 4 quarters ended the first quarter of 2009 increased by 7.58% over the previous period, with marked increase in the indices of Miscellaneous Goods (+12.92%), Clothing & Footwear (+11.84%), Restaurant Service (+11.76%) and Food, Alcoholic Drinks & Tobacco (+10.48%).

TPI reflects the price changes of goods and services purchased by visitors, which is compiled based on the consumption pattern of visitors derived from the Visitor Expenditure Survey. TPI covers 8 sections of goods and services, namely Food, Alcoholic Drinks & Tobacco; Clothing & Footwear; Accommodation; Restaurant Service; Transport & Communications; Medicine & Personal Goods; Entertainment & Cultural Activity; and Miscellaneous Goods. The base year of TPI is from July 1999 to June 2000.