Tourism in Hong Kong staged a revival last year as incoming visitor numbers climbed to about 13 million, according to Joseph Tung Yao-chung, the executive director of the Travel Industry Council.
Mr Tung said the figure surpassed the record of 12.97 million in 1996.
The hotel room occupancy rate climbed to 83 per cent to October, compared with 79 per cent for the same period the year before.
According to the Hong Kong Tourist Association, there was a jump of 13 per cent in the number of incoming visitors. Two thirds of the increased numbers were from Taiwan and the mainland. Mainland visitors comprised more than 30 per cent of the total incoming visitors last year.
Mr Tung said the economic recovery in the region had helped tourism in Hong Kong.
'People always say there is a change in the tourist profile as there are more visitors from the mainland, but we should not underestimate the spending power of mainland visitors,' said Mr Tung.
