HK Visitor Arrivals Top 1 Million in July

Visitor arrivals in Hong Kong in July this year broke the one- million mark for the fifth time this year, according to the figures released Wednesday by the Hong Kong Tourist Association.

Last month saw 1,095,923 arrivals, compared with 966,034 in July 1999 and 88,441 in the same month of 1998.

The average room occupancy reached 82 percent, up from 76 percent for the same month last year, with high tariff A hotels showing the most significant increase of 10 percentage points to 77 percent.

Commenting on the fast growth, the association's Deputy Executive Director Douglas Gautier said any lingering misconceptions about Hong Kong being a costly destination are well and truly being dispelled by timely and well-engineered consumer promotions.

"Sector-driven packaging in our seven key markets are proving to be just the kind of incentive prospective travelers need to view Hong Kong as an exciting year-round destination," he added.

The figures also showed that arrivals from Japan and the Republic of Korea rose by 17.4 percent and 19.5 percent, respectively.

People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/