Visitor arrivals to Hong Kong inJuly surged to 1.99 million, the highest figure ever recorded in a single month, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) said Wednesday.

According to the HKTB, the number is nearly 200,000 more than the previous highest monthly total of 1.79 achieved in December last year and over 600,000 more than the previous best July figure recorded in 2002.

This strong performance is especially notable as July was not traditionally a peak month. Key contributory factors were the appeal of the Hong Kong Shopping Festival and continued growth in individual visitors from the Chinese mainland.

The HKTB said the result represents a 54.1 percent growth from a year earlier, when Hong Kong was starting its recovery from severe acute respiratory syndrome, and a 45.4 percent growth compared with July 2002.

HKTB Executive Director Clara Chong said that the performance from the long-haul markets was especially encouraging. "While the Chinese mainland continues to be the main driver of the growth, all three long-haul markets are now consistently well ahead of the2002 levels," she noted.

Chong said the Hong Kong Shopping Festival was proving effective in luring more visitors and nearly 2.27 million arrivals had been recorded between the festival start on June 26 and the end of July.

She added that early figures indicated that August would be another strong month.

In the first seven months this year, total arrivals to Hong Kong stand at 12 million, 65.8 percent more than the same period in 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2004)