Hong Kong is boosted by record number of visitors in first week of October
Nearly 400,000 visitors, a record high, arrived in Hong Kong in the first week of October underlining the revival of the city's tourism industry after the Sars outbreak, a minister said yesterday.
Secretary for Economic Development and Labour Stephen Ip Shu-kwan said the tourism revival was evident from recent figures, with August and last month each recording about 1.5 million arrivals.
'The first week of October had a new record of nearly 400,000 arrivals, representing 6 per cent growth compared with the same period last year,' he told the Hong Kong Luncheon for World Tourism Organisation delegates in Beijing.
Mr Ip said the relaxation of restrictions on individual mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong was the most important development which helped the city's tourism revival.
'Since the introduction of the individual visit scheme in July, over 460,000 mainland visitors have applied for individual travel permits and over 200,000 visitors have visited Hong Kong on an individual basis,' he said.
Residents from eight cities in Guangdong have been allowed to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis since July 28 and the scheme was extended to cover Shanghai and Beijing residents last month. The scheme will be extended to Guangdong province in May.