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IMMIGRATION AND TOURISM
TOURISM
Hong Kong has shared in the world-wide expansion of popular tourism to become one of the major tourist centres of the Far East. At the same time tourism has become one of the Colony's major industries.
In the great area of the Pacific and the Far East (excluding Hawaii) only Japan attracts more tourists than Hong Kong and the two normally account for more tourists than all the other countries in the area put together. It is impossible to be precise about the earnings of the tourist industry but it certainly plays a valuable part in Hong Kong's economy. A 1962 survey estimated that tourists were spending well over $2,000 each in the Colony. On this basis tourism would most certainly be one of Hong Kong's biggest industries.
Although Hong Kong has been an attraction to travellers for a number of years, the decision to develop the tourist industry was only made in 1958. There were approximately 43,500 visitors to the Colony in 1957; thereafter the figures rose as follows: 1958 (103,058), 1959 (138,561), 1960 (163,661), 1961 (220,884), 1962 (253,016), 1963 (315,665). The 1964 figure is expected to be about 25 per cent over 1963, or approximately 370,000.
This remarkable development can be attributed fairly simply to the improvement in facilities for the tourist as a traveller, the simultaneous improvement in hotel accommodation and other amenities for the visitor in Hong Kong and the extent to which these improvements and the general attractions of Hong Kong have been exploited by promotion.
There has been rapid and imaginative development of the ar- rangements for handling the incoming visitor both at the new airport and at the sea terminal. Although the latter is only a temporary building it provides facilities of a high standard. The permanent ocean terminal now under construction will make a significant further contribution to these facilities.
The building, modification and extension of hotels in Hong Kong in the past seven years demonstrates the initiative of private enter- prises in grasping the opportunities of this industry. In 1957, there were approximately 1,300 rooms and by the end of 1964 there were 6,244 rooms.