HK receives over 2 mln visitors in February

Hong Kong welcomed 2.866 million visitors in February, setting a record for the month thanks to a 49.4 percent surge in Mainland arrivals during the Lunar New Year Golden Week, the city's Tourism Board said Thursday.

The number of visitor arrivals in February, which represents a rise of 32.5 percent from the same period last year, reflected the global economic recovery and improved consumer sentiment to travel, the Tourism board said.

For the first two months of the year, total arrivals stood at 5. 826 million, 17.5 percent higher than the same period last year.

All long- and short-haul market regions recorded positive growth. Taking the two months together, Mainland arrivals advanced 21 percent, followed by South and Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, for long-haul regions, Europe, Africa and the Middle East continued to be the leading performer with a 9.9 percent growth in the first two months.

In the first two months of the year, overnight and same-day arrivals rose 13.8 percent and 22.5 percent respectively. About 56 percent of all arrivals stayed in the city for at least one night, up from 57.8 percent last year. The proportion of same-day visitors grew from 42.2 percent to 44 percent.

Hotel occupancy across all hotel categories in February was 79 percent, up three percentage points from the same month last year.