Hong Kong expecting 1.43 mln mainland tourists during Spring Festival holiday

Hong Kong is preparing for a significant influx of visitors during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, with an estimated 1.43 million tourists from the Chinese mainland expected to visit, according to Rosanna Law Shuk-pui, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

Law said that the visitor forecast comes from the city's Immigration Department.

Estimates from the Travel Industry Authority of Hong Kong and other industry sources project that approximately 2,200 tour groups will arrive in Hong Kong during the nine-day holiday that runs from Feb. 15 to 23. This is an increase in the average daily number of inbound tour groups compared to last year's May Day and National Day holidays.

In preparation, an inter-departmental working group of the HKSAR Government held a meeting on Friday to coordinate and oversee the preparatory work of various departments for receiving the visitors. The objective is to ensure smooth operations across all sectors and provide a high-quality experience for all tourists visiting Hong Kong.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 65 pips to 6.9458 against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.