ENG-2006 — Page 364

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Chapter 15

Travel and Tourism

Hong Kong continues to be a compelling tourist destination, offering easy access to almost everything visitors desire. This appeal was given a further boost in 2006 with the opening of exciting crowd pullers such as Hong Kong Wetland Park, and new attractions at Ocean Park and

Hong Kong Disneyland.

Tourism remains one of Hong Kong's major economic pillars. The industry. continued growing steadily in 2006, with the number of arrivals topping 25.25 million, an increase of 8.1 per cent year-on-year. Visitors from Europe, and South and Southeast Asia chalked up a double-digit growth in 2006. Arrivals from Mainland China totalled 13.59 million, representing an increase of 8.4 per cent year-on-year.

The average hotel occupancy rate was 87 per cent in 2006, up slightly from 86 per cent in 2005. The number of room-nights also rose following an increased supply of some 3 300 rooms, or a rise of 7.4 per cent during the year.

Several major tourist attractions came on stream in late 2005 and 2006. They included the iconic theme park, Hong Kong Disneyland, Phase II of the Guinness World Records winning nightly light and sound show, called 'A Symphony of Lights', the Hong Kong Wetland Park, and a cable car ride linked to a cultural and religious themed village, called Ngong Ping 360. Taking advantage of these crowd-pullers, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched a two-year publicity campaign '2006 Discover Hong Kong Year' in 2005 and 2006 to promote Hong Kong around the world as a 'must-visit' destination.

Tourism Infrastructure, Facilities and Products

More than 5 million people visited Hong Kong Disneyland during its first year in business. During the summer of 2006, it opened three more new attractions: Autopia, UFO Zone and Stitch Encounter which proved popular with visitors. In September, the park launched an Annual Pass

Pass programme offering greater convenience and more choices to guests.