Statistics

HK's visitor arrivals from mainland up 15% during holiday

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-02-10 14:49

HONG KONG - During the seven-day Chinese New Year Golden Week, Hong Kong's visitor arrivals from mainland went up 15.7 percent compared to the same Golden Week last year, chairman of the city's Tourism Board said Wednesday.

James Tien, who leads the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), said from February 2 to February 8, 662,928 people from the Chinese mainland visited Hong Kong, setting a new high for mainland visitor arrivals during the Lunar New Year Holiday.

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"Out of the total mainland arrivals, those who traveled under the Individual Visit Scheme and on group tours took up 82 percent, while the remaining traveled with exit-entry permits for either business purposes or visiting relatives."

According to the chairman, some 67 percent of mainland visitors came on the Individual Visit Scheme, and the number of these visitors represented a year-on-year rise of 18.2 percent.

As for those traveling on group tours, they accounted for 15 percent of overall mainland arrivals and an increase of 16.9 percent compared to last year.