John Lee vows to make Hong Kong ‘preferred destination’ after 12% surge in tourists

Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has pledged to adopt innovative thinking to make the city a “preferred travel destination”, following a 12 per cent increase in tourist arrivals during the first half of the year.

Latest figures by the Hong Kong Tourism Board showed that the city welcomed about 3.48 million visitors in June, bringing the total number from January to June to more than 23.6 million, a 12 per cent year-on-year increase.

Three-quarters of the arrivals, or 17.8 million, came from mainland China.

The board said on Saturday that about 5.84 million visitors arrived from the rest of the world, marking a 17 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.

“Visitors from most short-haul markets, including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, increased by at least 25 per cent year on year,” it said.

“Among long-haul markets, Australia recorded a notable growth of 33 per cent year on year.”

In a Facebook post, Lee attributed the tourism boom partly to a string of arts, cultural and sports mega-events. He also pointed to the opening of Kai Tak Sports Park, the city’s newest hub for world-class concerts and sporting events.

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