Record high of 200 million passengers
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    Hong Kong's 200 millionth passenger passed through a Hong Kong Immigration control point today (December 28).

     "The clearance of the 200 millionth passenger today marked a new milestone in Hong Kong's travel history. The number is a 4.5% increase from the previous record of 191.3 million in 2005," an Immigration Department spokesman said.

     The flow of passenger traffic was adversely affected by SARS in 2003 when the overall number of passengers was 153 million. In 2004, passenger traffic increased to 181.5 million.

     "With the growth of the economy, we expect the passenger traffic to rise continually in 2007. We will maintain our efforts to enhance the smooth flow of passengers at control points and to provide quality immigration service," the spokesman said.

Ends/Thursday, December 28, 2006
Issued at HKT 18:45

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