HK ready for 700 mainland tour groups: Kevin Yeung
Culture and tourism minister Kevin Yeung on Saturday said Hong Kong has geared up for an influx of tourists during the Golden Week to avoid the same problems caused by crowded tour groups in May.  Around 700 mainland tour groups are expected to visit the SAR during the Mid-Autumn and National Day holiday, the minister said. Speaking on a radio programme, Yeung said he discussed preparation work with the tourism sector, such as border clearance and dining arrangements for tour groups.  "Of course, we will pay extra attention to districts such as To Kwa Wan, where there will usually be more tour groups. We have talked with different travel agencies to discuss how to make the arrangements smoother," he said.  "We will generally follow the arrangement of the Golden Week holiday in May, but we will also review the situation every day."  The tourism minister added that a series of measures are underway to lure more mainland tourists to Hong Kong, including social media campaigns promoting the city's hiking routes, which have attracted over 200 million views. The lawmaker representing the tourism sector said on Friday that a million are expected mainlanders to visit Hong Kong over the holiday.  Perry Yiu also said that overall, the inbound tourist figure will reach 70 percent of the level in 2018, and about 90 percent of the city's hotel rooms have already been booked.