HK mulls over limiting number of Chinese tourists

Hong Kong

HONG Kong's leader said on Tuesday that the government is looking to restrict the number of Chinese tourists entering the city, following a public backlash over the influx of mainland visitors.

The announcement came after a leading travel body said that official figures showed that the volume of mainland visitors over the Chinese New Year period fell for the first time in almost 20 years - attributing the trend to the frosty reception that they receive.

"We will continue to speak with Chinese authorities about whether or not there is space to tighten the (visitor) scheme to be able to control the natural trend of increasing mainland visitors in Hong Kong," the city's leader Leung Chun-ying said. He added that the growing number of Chinese visitors has "put pressure on the eve…