"Spending of at least 1.5 billion HK dollars has been generated by the two-month long 2004 Hong Kong Shopping Festival," said the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) Chairman Selina Chow Thursday.

Organized by HKTB, 2004 Hong Kong Shopping Festival came to a successful conclusion at the end of August. A lucky draw ceremony for the Festival held on Thursday was conducted by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labor of the Hong Kong government Stephen Ip, Commissioner for Tourism of Hong Kong Eva Cheng, HKTB Executive Director Clara Chong and representatives of the prize sponsors.

Addressing the ceremony, Chow said that during the Festival period, visitor arrivals rose by more than 40 percent over the same period in 2002 when the Board staged a similar event, turningthe summer into another peak travel season.

"Provisional figures show that arrivals during the Festival from June 26 to the end of August reached 4.34 million, markedly more than the Board's original target of 3.7 million and over 40 percent ahead of the 3.08 million arrivals achieved during a similar event in 2002," said Chow.

Traditionally, July and August fall outside the main peak season. The record arrivals during the Festival have therefore changed this trend and turned the summer into another peak travel season. With such encouraging results, the HKTB is confident of exceeding its target of 20.5 million arrivals for 2004.

Many merchants took the initiative of introducing special offers and privileges to generate more business opportunities - Some have reported that as a result of the Festival, they enjoyed an increase of 10 percent to 30 percent in their business turnover.

With even greater support from shopping malls and merchants, the Festival's lucky draw, which stipulated a minimum spending of 300 HK dollars per entry, attracted an enthusiastic response from both visitors and local residents. Altogether 5 million tickets were collected, the largest-ever number for a lucky draw in Hong Kong. This means the Festival has helped promote at least 1.5 billion HK dollars of spending on shopping and dining, thereby benefiting these important sectors as well as the economy at large.

Besides shopping, the Festival featured a host of dining offers,themed activities and entertainment to showcase Hong Kong's vibrancy and provide visitors with an enjoyable experience. HKTB'ssurveys show that the three attractions in Tsim Sha Tsui, the focus of the festivities, were all very popular among visitors. These include the Avenue of Stars, A Symphony of Lights fronting Victoria Harbor and the Aqua Fantasia multi-media water show in front of the Clock Tower. Altogether 600,000 or an average of nearly l0,000 spectators per night enjoyed the spectacular Aqua Fantasia.

Chow emphasized that the Board's publicity activities during the festival period had successfully enhanced the exposure of HongKong and its core strengths internationally. Together with variouspromotions, they highlighted the city's quality service and hospitality.

Source: Xinhua