Hong Kong to step up tourism promotion: chief executive

Hong Kong will launch promotions to attract more tourists to the city because of a drop in the number of visitors over the holiday weekend, Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters before departing for Wuhan, capital of the central Hubei province, Leung said mainland visitors under all schemes, including multiple-visit, individual visit and group travel, had dropped during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday.

While the decline may be related to the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate and external economic conditions, the recent protests against parallel traders is also a crucial factor, Leung said.

The illegal demonstrations against this practice are detrimental to Hong Kong's reputation as a tourist destination, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will combat those activities, he said.

Noting tourism is important to Hong Kong, Leung said many low- income workers are engaged in the industry, and the SAR government will take remedial efforts to boost Hong Kong's image and launch promotions later this month to attract more visitors. Endi