Total visitor arrivals during the Lunar New Year Golden Week, February 13 to 19, reached 782,163, up 16.9% on last year, the Tourism Board announced today.

The number of Mainland visitor arrivals during the period was 573,014, up 15.2% on last year.

A new record on Mainland arrivals in a single day was set February 16, the third day of the New Year, with 102,849 arrivals.

Robust growth was also recorded for other short- and long-haul markets, seeing 209,149 arrivals and a 21.6% year-on-year rise.

The cumulative visitor arrivals this year up to February 19 surpassed five million.

Tourism Board Chairman James Tien attributed the rise to the stabilising global economy.

"We also understand many Mainland visitors, especially those from southern China, made same-day consumption visits over the past week to enjoy the shopping and New Year festivities in Hong Kong, which helped drive growth in overall arrivals," he said.