Hong Kong tourist arrivals jump 12pc despite Occupy uncertainty
Arrivals hit 60.8m, thanks to more visitors from Shenzhen and S Korea
Tourist arrivals in Hong Kong increased 12 per cent to 60.8 million last year - up on an estimate made last February that there would be 59 million visitors and despite uncertainty created by the Occupy protests.
The total included 47.2 million from the mainland, an increase of 16 per cent from the year before, according to preliminary Tourism Board figures.
For the first time, South Korea replaced Japan as Hong Kong's third-biggest tourism market. The mainland and Taiwan came in first and second.
The growth in mainland figures was driven by Shenzhen permanent residents who used their Hong Kong multiple-entry permits to make more trips to the city.
Arrivals of other Asian visitors rose in the first three quarters of last year, but the increase was countered by a fall in the last quarter due to the Occupy protests.
A sluggish economic outlook in Europe continued to affect long-haul arrivals, leaving the biggest growth potential in Southeast Asia, according to the board's executive director Anthony Lau Chun-hon.
To boost demand for travel during the Lunar New Year holidays next month, the statutory body is sending a delegation of about 10 representatives from the retail, tour agency and hotel sectors to Beijing, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia.