China News Service, Hong Kong, February 14 (Reporter Liu Dawei) The first to fourth day of the first lunar month of the lunar calendar this year (February 10 to 13) is the Spring Festival holiday in Hong Kong. According to preliminary statistics released by the Hong Kong SAR government on the 14th, there were approximately 750,000 tourists visiting Hong Kong during this period. Among them, about 650,000 were mainland tourists, exceeding the approximately 640,000 in the same period in 2018.
In addition, a total of about 1,200 mainland inbound tour groups arrived in Hong Kong in the past four days, involving about 40,500 tourists. The number of inbound tour groups from the Mainland and the total number of people participating in tour groups have exceeded the pre-epidemic levels for the same period.
Yang Yunxiong, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Hong Kong SAR Government, said in an interview after an event that day that the number of tourists visiting Hong Kong during the Spring Festival holiday in the past few days was in line with the SAR government’s previous expectations. Although there is still some gap, it has gradually returned to the same period before the epidemic. Several large-scale events, such as the float parade on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the fireworks display on the second day of the Lunar New Year, the horse racing on the third day of the Lunar New Year, and the "Lunar New Year Cup" football match on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, are all popular, and the number of participants in some events has exceeded the pre-epidemic level.
Yang Runxiong said that the SAR government will continue to work hard to organize more events to attract more tourists to Hong Kong, and will also put more effort into tourism facilities and other aspects. The SAR government also welcomes visitors to Hong Kong to enjoy Hong Kong’s scenery and participate in Hong Kong’s major events, as well as to participate in different major events or tourism projects in other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The SAR government will cooperate with other cities in the Greater Bay Area to promote the overall cultural and tourism development of the Greater Bay Area.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong SAR Government said that the number of tourists visiting Hong Kong during the Spring Festival holiday continued to recover, and reception work in all aspects was smooth. During this period, tourists traveled to different corners of Hong Kong and major tourist attractions. Facilities or attractions including Ocean Park, Hong Kong Disneyland, the Peak Tram, Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car and the West Kowloon Cultural District were also very busy. The number of tourist arrivals is closer to or even exceeding pre-pandemic levels. In addition, according to industry feedback, the overall occupancy rate of Hong Kong hotels during the holidays reached 90%.
The spokesman said that there are still several days left during the Spring Festival holiday in the Mainland. The SAR government departments, relevant institutions and the industry will continue to actively attract and welcome tourists to Hong Kong and provide them with wonderful travel experiences. (over)