Organisers hailed this year's Hong Kong Book Fair as a thumping success after its closure yesterday, with a record number of visitors buying more books.
Anne Chick Chi-yu, senior manager of the Trade Development Council's exhibition department, said the attendance over the six days was 639,312 - the largest in 16 years and more than 20 per cent up on last year's half million.
'The extended opening hours to midnight last Saturday helped boost the figure,' Ms Chick said. 'Last year we closed at 10pm. This year we tried to give it two hours extra and we waived the entry free for those who came after 10pm.'
She said a better economy and more cultural activities featuring renowned authors helped.
Asked if the next fair could open until midnight more often, or until 3am or 4am like the Lunar New Year market, Ms Chick said many things needed to be considered.
'Operating the booths from 10am to 10pm is a lot of hard work. Whether they would want to have more days of a midnight market we still have to negotiate,' she said. 'About whether to further extend the opening hours, we need to have better arrangements for the public such as public transport.'
