Hong Kong breaks tourists record in 2011

Tourist arrivals hit a record high in Hong Kong in 2011 with nearly 42 million visitors, boosted by a huge increase of people from mainland China, tourism officials said. The number of holiday makers to the city increased 16.4 percent from 2010 to 41.92 million, with about two-thirds coming from mainland China, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) in a statement. Mainland tourist figures jumped 23.9 percent year-on-year, helping to offset a decline of 2.4 percent from Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Tourism accounts for about 3.4 percent of Hong Kong''s economy.