HK sees decline in RI visitors

JAKARTA: The number of Indonesians visiting Hong Kong in the last eight months has dropped by 43.4 percent to 70,082, from 123,766 in the same period last year, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB).

HKTB said that after the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Hong Kong had no longer become the first choice in destination for Indonesians.

Before SARS, many Indonesians had visited Hong Kong for business and shopping excursions.

Early this year, SARS spread from southern China and throughout the region, with cases of the disease also being reported in Canada and England. The disease hit Asian tourism particularly hard, following the Bali bombing in Kuta last October.

The Hong Kong tourism sector, which contributed about six percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was severely affected, HKTB regional director David Leung said.

As part of its efforts to lure visitors back to the territory, the HKTB launched here on Monday a new campaign, Hong Kong -- Live It. Love It! --JP