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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, to the media on tourism after attending the launch ceremony and press conference of "Ngong Ping 360 x Ip Man 3" at Ngong Ping Village, Lantau Island today (October 2):
Reporter: With more than 15 per cent in the growth of visitor numbers already on the first day of Golden Week, would you say actually tourism industry is not facing a downturn, or else how would you interpret the figures?
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development: I think that's exactly what I said in Chinese earlier. We need to interpret these figures. We cannot base our conclusion on one day's figures. And the usual pattern of the seven-day Golden Week is quite different actually. We need to look at it quite carefully, analysing for example the impact on whether some of these visitors are using Hong Kong as a transit and various aspects. I would like to look at the whole period before we can draw any observation. As you ask for the first day figures, I just want to give you the first day figures. But we can't base any conclusion on just one day's figures.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Friday, October 2, 2015
Issued at HKT 15:14
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