Almost 10 Million People Visit HK in 1Q

Hong Kong welcomed nearly 10 million visitors in the first four months of 2008, putting the city on course for a record 30 million arrivals this year, officials said Friday. A total of 9.69 million visitors were recorded between January and the end of April, 10.3 per cent more than in 2007 when a record 28 million people visited over the course of the year.

In April, the majority of arrivals were people from mainland China whose numbers shot up nearly 20 per cent year on year to 1.3 million of the 2.4 million total arrivals, the Hong Kong Tourism Board said.

Combined visitor arrivals from Europe, Africa and the Middle East, by contrast, accounted for just 225,152 visits, up 1.6 per cent on the same period last year, the board said.

Hong Kong is hosting the Olympic equestrian events in August but the board says visitor numbers may dip during the games as people stay away, fearing high prices and full hotels.

Hong Kong's visitor numbers are much higher than other cities' tourist counts as it includes people who leave the city without staying overnight, accounting for more than 40 per cent of all arrivals.

Visitor numbers have also risen sharply since the easing of cross-border travel restrictions, allowing millions of people from mainland China to visit the former British colony more easily.

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