<font color="#000000"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB">HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) said on Wednesday that visitor arrivals from Mainland China to Hong Kong reached almost 250,000 during the Labour Day holidays (May 1 to 3), 40-percent higher than in the same period last year. HKTB said those who came under the Individual Visit Scheme reached 179,756, a 45.5-percent increase from last year. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></span></font>
<font color="#000000"><span class="longtext1"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB">“Last year, the confirmation of the first human case of swine influenza in Hong Kong on 1 May affected the number of Mainland visitor arrivals to the city. This year, visitors</span></span><span class="longtext1"><span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana"><font face="宋体, MS Song">’</font></span></span><span class="longtext1"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"> desire to travel has greatly improved as the economy recovers, leading to a remarkable increase in Mainland arrivals during the past Labour Day holidays. The arrival figure on 1 May alone reached 105,834, setting a new single-day record,” HKTB Chairman Mr James Tien said.</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></font>
<font color="#000000"><span class="longtext1"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB">“Such outstanding performance showed that Hong Kong has gradually become a popular destination for short-break vacation among Mainland visitors under the new holiday arrangements introduced since 2008. Indeed, capitalising on this trend, our local industry partners have launched various special promotions and attractive offers during the Labour Day holidays, which helped instil even greater interest in visiting Hong Kong, especially among those from the Guangdong Province. This, along with visitors</span></span><span class="longtext1"><span lang="EN-US" style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-font-family: Verdana; mso-hansi-font-family: Verdana"><font face="宋体, MS Song">’</font></span></span><span class="longtext1"><span lang="EN-GB" style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"> strong consumption sentiments, has driven sustained robust growth in Mainland arrivals,” Tien said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></font>