"This year, the total visitor arrivals during the Chinese New Year Golden Week reached 782,163. This represented an increase of 16.9% when compared with the figure in the equivalent period of 2009. Out of the total arrivals, those from Mainland China took up more than 70%. In particular, Mainland arrivals surged to 102,849 on 16 February, the third day of the Lunar New Year, setting a new record of Mainland arrivals in a single day. In addition to Mainland China, robust growth was also recorded for other short- and long-haul markets. Our provisional figures show that the cumulative visitor arrivals from 1 January to 19 February this year have already surpassed five million, reaching a new historic high.

"We are greatly encouraged by the arrivals gain during the Chinese New Year. We believe the increase could mainly be attributed to the stabilising global economy, which has revived consumers' sentiments to travel. Also, we understand that many Mainland visitors, especially those from southern China, made same-day consumption visits over the past week to enjoy the shopping and New Year festivities in Hong Kong, which helped drive the growth in overall arrivals."

Below is the breakdown on arrivals to Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year Golden Week:

Note: The 2010 Chinese New Year Golden Week (Lunar New Year's Eve to 6th day of the Lunar New Year) ran from 13 February 2010 to 19 February 2010, while the Golden Week in 2009 fell on 25 January 2009 to 31 January 2009.