XN000022-1988-10-20 — Page 8

6

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1988

INCREASE

UNLIKELY "SINCE WE ARE

ΤΟ HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF OVERSEAS VISITORS WHO WOULD COME SPECIFICALLY FOR THE IT SEEMS THAT THE CONSULTANTS HAVE RELIED ON LOCAL VISITORS AND FROM CHINA, MR TSAO SAID.

IN

EXPO,

THOSE

LEISURE

HE NOTED THAT IN HONG KONG, PEOPLE HAD RELATIVELY LESS

LIVED IN COUNTRIES WHERE TIME AND WORK LONGER DAYS THAN PEOPLE WHO EXPOS HAD BEEN HELD.

"THE CONSULTANTS HAVE ASSUMED ON THE BASIS

OF PREVIOUS EXPOS

AN AVERAGE OF 2.5 VISITS PER VISITOR.

THAT THE NUMBER

I

"A UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR OF GEOGRAPHY THOUGHT OF VISITS THAT CAN BE EXPECTED FROM LOCAL SOURCES SHOULD BE HALVED. HAVE SOME SYMPATHY WITH THIS VIEW.

DURING THE SIX-MONTH "THE CONSULTANTS FURTHER PROJECTED THAT

PROPLE WILL COME FROM THE PEOPLE'S PERIOD OF EXPO, THREE MILLION

VISIT THE EXPO REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND 2.7 MILLION OF THEM WOULD EACH TWO-AND-A-HALF TIMES.

H

"THEY WOULD THEN PROVIDE MORE THAN SIX

MILLION VISITORS,' HE

SAID.

MILLION PEOPLE

FROM

CHINA

WOULD AND MEAN HAVING TO HANDLE

MR TSAO SAID WHETHER THREE COME TO HONG KONG DURING THE SIX-MONTH EXPO PERIOD WAS DEBATABLE, EVEN ASSUMING THAT THEY WOULD COME, IT WOULD 15,000 SUCH VISITORS A DAY.

HANDLES AROUND 200 A RESOURCES ARE VERY MUCH

"RIGHT NOW, THE IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT DAY AND WHEN THE NUMBER REACHES 250, THEIR STRETCHED.

+

TO "I HAVE SOME DIFFICULTY IN MAKING THE QUANTUM LEAP FROM 250

SAME PROBLEM, MR TSAO 15,000. THE DIRECTOR OF IMMIGRATION HAS THE SAID.

ASSUME

COMING то HONG KONG HE SAID WHILE TOURISTS VISIT THE

IT

TO WOULD BE HARD EXPO, TRAVELLING TO THE TERRITORY WOULD DO SO.

WOULD PROBABLY THAT

BUSINESSMEN

"CERTAINLY WE ARE GUESSING AT

NUMBERS,

BOTH THE

CONSULTANTS

AND THE ADMINISTRATION.

"ONE MIGHT SAY THAT YOUR GUESS IS AS

BAD AS

MR MINE,"

TSAO

SAID.

"HOWEVER, AS

POLICY

SECRETARIES,

WE

HAVE

A

RESPONSIBILITY NOT TO GAMBLE IN OUR PLANS FOR HONG KONG'S FUTURE,

F

CLEAR HE

SAID.

AN EXPO, ****