BRIEFS | Visitor arrivals down by 3.8 pct

Visitor arrivals decreased by 3.8 percent year-on-year in July, as shown by data released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). The number of tourist arrivals in July amounted to 2,648,894, up by 17.8 percent month-on-month. The number of same-day visitors decreased by 6.4 percent year-on-year, while the number of overnight visitors dropped by 0.9 percent. DSEC said that the average length of stay increased by 0.2 days year-on-year to 1.2 days. The number of tourists from mainland China decreased by 6.1 percent year-on-year to 1,757,167.  The number of those traveling under the Individual Visit Scheme dropped by 5.3 percent to 824,536. Mainland visitors came mainly from Guangdong, Fujian and Hunan provinces. Visitors from the Republic of Korea decreased by 22.5 percent year-on-year, while those from Hong Kong (586,136) and Taiwan (93,443) increased by 5.7 percent and 0.1 percent respectively.  Long-haul tourists from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom recorded a year-on-year decline. In the first seven months of this year, visitor arrivals totaled 17,405,393.

Int’l Music Festival shows sold out

Tickets for the 29th International Music Festival (MIMF) organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) have been on sale since Sunday. Many people waited at different ticket offices to buy the tickets. According to an IC note to the press, “Ticket sales were ideal with about 7,000 sold by 7:00pm on 23 August.” The 29th MIMF will take place from 4th October to 1st November, featuring some 23 extraordinary performances. Tickets for the performance “Over the Moon” by Chanticleer, known as an orchestra of voices, were sold out on the first day. The performance “Stradivari Quartett” and concert to be performed by Icelandic sensation Ólafur Arnalds were also very popular. The opening performance “Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 3”, BBC Philharmonic’s two performances of Symphony No. 9 and the closing opera “Faust” were also hot-selling items.

Public service consultation on future e-gov ends

The month-long consultation within public services on the topic of the overall planning of electronic governance between 2015 and 2019 has concluded and it is expected that soon opinions from the public will be sought, Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau deputy head Kou Peng Kuan revealed in his reply to lawmaker Si Ka Lon’s earlier interpellation. Si questioned the authorities about the timeframe in which relevant information for public consultation would be released. The authorities also said that more service applications would be rolled out by other government departments in response to the trend of mobile phone usage among citizens. The bureau also planned to improve the functionality and accessibility of the government website on various electronic devices.