Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, on the Food Truck Pilot Scheme and tourism at a media session after attending the Launch Ceremony of the Food Truck Pilot Scheme today (February 2):

Reporter: Do you find that tourism is improving? That it is going to improve, that it is going to go higher this year? And after going through trying out all these food trucks, how exactly do you think they are going to help improve tourism in Hong Kong?

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development: It is too premature to predict any trend for tourism or visitor arrival figures. I have just given the preliminary figures for the month of January. There is an increase in the total number of visitors by about 4.8 per cent (year-on-year), and Mainland tourists increased by about 7.5 per cent (year-on-year). So we are seeing an increase in tourist arrivals starting from the last quarter of last year and it carried on through December to January. It is still sustaining - a pretty strong trend. We hope that this will continue in the future, and food trucks like these would add on to the fabric of Hong Kong's attractions. Of course, you cannot base any increase on one single factor. But it is really the holistic approach that we work with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong and the tourism sector together to increase our profile and attractiveness.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Ends/Thursday, February 2, 2017
Issued at HKT 18:55

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