Hong Kong’s finance chief expects the tourism sector to make a robust recovery this year, citing the 10 and 18 per cent year-on-year growth in the number of mainland Chinese and international visitor arrivals recorded in the first five months.
In his weekly blog on Sunday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also said he was confident the figures would continue to go up, partly thanks to a series of mega-events set to be held throughout the remainder of the year.
The minister noted the city recorded about 20 million visitor arrivals in the first five months of the year, with mainlanders accounting for about three-quarters of the figure.
In comparison, Hong Kong logged about 18 million visitor arrivals between January and May of last year. Mainland travellers made up nearly 80 per cent of those tourists.
Chan attributed the growth to the city’s recent hosting of mega-events such as the Hong Kong Sevens and the Art Basel fair in March, as well as the ongoing Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival.
“The diverse events bring together common fans from local and surrounding areas, including more than 80 million compatriots in the Greater Bay Area, as well as friends from the rest of the mainland and other parts of Asia,” he said.
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