Asia-Pacific News

Hong Kong plans sporting events, record attempt to lure tourists

Oct 22, 2009, 10:04 GMT

Hong Kong - An international yacht race never previously held in Asia and a tennis world team challenge are among six events that are to be held for the first time in Hong Kong in an effort to lure more tourists to the territory, officials said Thursday. The six events are forecast to attract 140,000 participants, said Jeffrey Lam, chairman of the government's Mega Events Fund assessment committee. Lam did not give an estimate as to how many visitors the events were expected to attract. But the latest figures from the Hong Kong Tourism Board showed the number of visitors to Hong Kong dropped 3.4 per cent in the first eight months of the year from the same period last year to 18.9 million. There was a 12.7-per-cent fall to 4.2 million travellers coming from Asian countries and a 10.1-per-cent drop to 2.7 million in the number of people coming from long-haul areas, including Europe and North America. Among the six events, the yachting competition is to be the first time the Louis Vuitton trophy race would be held in Asia. The event is planned from October to December 2010 in Victoria Harbour and is expected to attract the world's fastest racing yachts and top sailors.

And Also

Lady Gaga's New Outfit: Police Tape?!

Lady Gaga's New Outfit: Police Tape?! - PopEater
Brittany Murphy -- Hundreds of Pills a Month - TMZ
A Chat With the Brains Behind the Jaw-Dropping 'Life' - PopEater
Comedian`s comments about Steve Irwin`s daughter Bindi spark outrage - Monsters and Critics
MTV Tells 'Jersey Shore' Cast to Pack Their Crap - TMZ

Your Talkback on this Story

Similar articles

Hong Kong visitor arrivals expected to exceed 31 million in 2010
Hong Kong expects tourism arrivals to increase by 5 per cent
Hong Kong defies tourism slump to welcome 29.6 million visitors
Hong Kong visitor arrivals surge 7.6 per cent in November
Hong Kong's transport - not dining or shopping - top with tourists

Latest Headlines in Asia-Pacific

Older Talkback

Asia-Pacific: Index

: News; Features

Latest Pics

Chloe Sevigny

Martha Plimpton

Martha Plimpton

Kirstie Alley

Harold Perrineau

Harold Perrineau

In Monsters and Critics

: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Lifestyle; Movies; Music; News; People; Science & Nature; Sport; TV; Archives
Other Languages and Sites: Deutschland (Monsters and Critics); The Tech Herald; Free Games

Entertainment: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Movies; Music; People; Soundtracks; TV
Media: Celebrity Photos; Movie Pictures; Movie Trailers; Movie Posters; Theatre Stills; Celebrity Video; Music Video
Released this week: Movies - USA; Movies - UK; DVD - USA
Distractions: Online Games; Daily Crossword; Sudoku Classic; Daily Jigsaw

World News: US; UK; Americas; Europe; Middle East; Asia Pacific; South Asia; Africa; Business; Education; Health
Science and Tech: Science and Nature; Technology
Lifestyle: Autos; Fashion; Life; Travel

Corporate

: About; Advertise; Contact; The Team; Vacancies; Privacy; RSS; Site Map; Terms; Webmasters

The Fine Print

© 2003 - 2010 by Monsters and Critics.com, WotR Ltd. All Rights Reserved. All photos are copyright their respective owners and are used under license or with permission. * Note M&C cannot be held responsible for the content on other Web Sites.

Servers supplied by Servint