Visitor Arrivals in Hong Kong Grow 9.1 Percent in MayVisitor arrivals in Hong Kong for May showed an encouraging year-on-year growth of 9.1 percent to 1,165,933, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced here Thursday.For the first five months of this year, total arrivals grew by 7.0 percent compared with the same period of 2000, broadly in line with the HKTB's growth forecast for 2001 of 7.8 percent. Of the individual markets, the Republic of Korea was the star performer in May, recording 36,286 arrivals for a 35.2 percent increase over May 2000. Contributory factors included an extended weekend break opportunities in the early part of the month, taking in the Children's Day and Parent's Day public holidays. Arrivals from Japan, India and Thailand grew by 8.3 percent, 25.1 percent and 15.0 percent, respectively. Major exhibitions and conferences in Hong Kong such as Hofex, the International Computer Expo and the Fortune Global Forum helped stimulate arrivals from the Chinese mainland, which witnessed a 14.0 percent increase in May. The Miss Saigon stage show, strongly promoted by HKTB, proved an attractive draw for visitors from Taiwan, with an increased of 7.9 percent. Arrivals from the United States rose 5.5 percent in May compared with the same month in 2000, while those from Canada recorded a slight drop of 1.4 percent. Average hotel occupancy across all categories in May was 80 percent, a slightly decrease of the 81 percent recorded in May 2000. |
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