Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong drop almost 100 pct in July: tourism board

The provisional figure for visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in July was around 20,600, a drop of almost 100 percent from the same time last year, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced Friday.

According to the figures released by the HKTB, between January and July, visitor arrivals declined by over 91 percent year on year to less than 3.54 million.

While the situation of the global COVID-19 pandemic remains unpredictable, the HKTB has been continuously engaging trade partners in source markets, said Chairman of the HKTB Pang Yiu-kai.

Pang said that since March, the HKTB has organized nearly 90 online seminars, which were attended by about 10,000 trade representatives from the mainland and overseas markets.

The HKTB has also invited insiders from local travel agencies, airlines, hotels and attractions to share their views to allow trade partners from different source markets to better understand the development of the pandemic and virus control measures in Hong Kong, the board's strategy for recovering the tourism industry, and support for tourism-related industries, said Pang.

The tourism board said from August onwards, it will host at least 45 online seminars, which are expected to attract 4,500 members in industries. In addition, the HKTB is working with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the tourism industry on the preparation for the "Open House Hong Kong" tactical promotion, which aims to welcome visitors back to Hong Kong with a variety of exciting experiences and attractive offers.