ESTIMATES by the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA) for a 7 per cent rise in the number of visitor arrivals and an 11 per cent increase in tourist receipts this year may be a bit on the conservative side.
After all, this is an historic year in which the territory will take centre stage. Millions of people around the world, fed increasingly on news relating to Hong Kong, will no doubt be tuning in to watch the handover on television.
Those who manage to get a booking probably will have long shopping lists, fishing especially for anything emblazoned with the magic number 1997.
From here on, there can be no excuse for not knowing whether Hong Kong is in China, Japan, or Singapore - as we know was often the case in the past.
Add to the equation the amount of propaganda being dished out on China's resumption of sovereignty on the mainland itself, where more than a billion people have been regaled with tales of the glorious occasion.
The countdown clocks ticking away the days in the border town of Shenzhen and in Tiananmen Square attest to this.