Fueled by strong growth from long-haul markets, Hong Kong's arrivals in July reached 2.1 million, the highest July total ever, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB)'s Chairman Selina Chow said on Monday.

Speaking at a lucky draw ceremony, Chow said the record performance in July is one of the remarkable achievements of the 2005 Hong Kong Shopping Festival, which was organized by the HKTB and ran from June 25 to Aug. 31. About 4.6 million visitors came to Hong Kong during the festival.

"We are most encouraged by the fact that the growth in July has spread across all regions, and particularly in the long-haul markets, demonstrating that our continued efforts in maintaining a balanced portfolio of visitors are continuing to bear fruit," said Chow.

This year, we've received strongly positive response from long-haul travel trade partners. The different promotion packages related to the festival have helped expand the long-haul market share, she added.

Driven by the extensive promotions, the long-haul market regions enjoyed an overall growth of almost 20 percent in July, with arrivals from Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific increasing by as much as 35 percent over the record performance in July 2004, Chow said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2005)