A TOTAL of 5.76 million tourists visited the territory during the first eight months of the year, up 14 per cent over the previous year, according to the latest statistics from the Hong Kong Tourist Association (HKTA).
Japanese visitors, traditionally the most important visitors in terms of high spending power, continue to decline, sliding 9.4 per cent compared with the corresponding period in 1992.
The figures exclude the number of mainland Chinese who visited the territory, who continue to record the highest growth, up 67 per cent from April to August.
The HKTA included Chinese visitors in arrivals statistics from April.
Association chairman Martin Barrow expects Japan to remain a difficult market over the next few months, but it is projected to be a key market in the long term.
''Less than 10 per cent of Japanese population, which totals 127 million, travel out of their country annually,'' he said.