Hong Kong welcomes tourist influx as Spring Festival holiday begins

HONG KONG, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong's tourist sites and commercial complexes were abuzz with excitement as tourists poured in on Sunday, the first day of the nine-day Spring Festival holiday on the Chinese mainland.

Over 377,000 visitor arrivals had been recorded by 9 p.m., data from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government showed.

Mainland tourists thronged shopping malls in Hong Kong, many of whom were here to pick out accessories or ornaments crafted in pure gold with horse motifs to celebrate the Year of the Horse.

Paul Chan, financial secretary of the HKSAR government, estimated in his blog post on Sunday that tourist arrivals from the mainland could hit 1.43 million during the holiday. This represents a 6 percent increase in average daily visits from the previous year.

Various Chinese New Year celebrations in the HKSAR, including float parade, fireworks show, horse racing and soccer games, are expected to feast visitors worldwide on the festivities, he said.

Local data showed that total visits to Hong Kong from Jan. 1 to Feb. 13 climbed 9.6 percent year on year, with those from overseas hiking 16.4 percent from a year earlier.