Hong Kong has become a popular destination for short-break vacations among Mainland visitors

Hong Kong welcomed 2.815 million visitors in May, a 38.9% year-on-year rise, setting a record for the month, the Tourism Board says.

For the first five months of the year, total arrivals stood at 14.23 million, up 19.9% on the same period last year. Both figures for May alone and for the first five months have surpassed the levels in the same periods of 2008, before the financial crisis occurred.

Visitors from Mainland rose 46.8% in May, showing Hong Kong has become a popular destination for short-break vacations among Mainland visitors.

Long-haul arrivals went up 15% in May, and the visitor numbers for the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East have returned to the pre-financial crisis level.

Arrivals from South and Southeast Asia surged 48.5% while tourists from Taiwan rose 14%. The appreciation of the Japanese yen and Korean won currencies also contributed to greater travel sentiments in Japan and Korea, leading to an increase of 39.8% and 44.6% in arrivals from the two countries.

As a result of visa-free arrangements, arrivals from Russia ballooned 169.2%. India also recorded double-digit growth in arrivals for 11 consecutive months, with arrivals in May up 78.7%.

In May, 1.59 million visitors to Hong Kong stayed in the city overnight, up 38.6% on the same month last year. Overnight visitors between January and May totalled 8.01 million, up 17.3%.