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With its magnificent night view, wonderful Chinese food, fantastic shopping and many other tourist attractions, Hong Kong is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, the Principal Economic and Trade Representative (Tokyo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Mrs Jennie Chok, said in Seoul, Korea today (September 11).
Officiating at the opening ceremony of "Festive Hong Kong in Seoul", Mrs Chok said the total visitor arrivals in Hong Kong reached an all time high of nearly 29.6 million last year in spite of the global economic downturn.
"Among them, close to 620,000 came from Korea, which is in fact our fifth largest source of tourists.
"Reciprocally, Korea is one of the most popular destinations for Hong Kong people, with a total of about 216,000 people visiting the country last year. And the trend is up.
"Hong Kong values the good relationship and friendly ties with Korea. We look forward to welcoming more of you to visit Hong Kong for business, education and tourism," Mrs Chok said.
To bring Hong Kong closer to the Koreans, a two-day event "Festive Hong Kong in Seoul", organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and sponsored by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Tokyo, is held in Seoul this weekend.
Programmes include a variety of exhibitions, performances and cultural demonstrations, Hong Kong film shows and an impressive uniform show by Cathay Pacific Airways.
The event also ties in with "Festive Hong Kong 2010" – an exciting year-long sequence of festivals and events offering visitors in Hong Kong a diverse assortment of unique traditional Chinese festivals and Western cultural celebrations.
Ends/Saturday, September 11, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:35
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