Figures released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) on Tuesday showed that passenger arrivals from the Chinese mainland are expected to reach 25.4 million in the year of 2011, up 12 percent from the previous year when the number hit a record high of 22.47 million.

From Jan. 1 to 15, Hong Kong has already received approximately 1 million mainland arrivals, representing an increase of 31 percent, said Anthony Lau, Executive Director of HKTB, during the press conference Tuesday.

In 2010, mainland visitors made up of 63 percent of the total visitor arrivals in Hong Kong. Mainland has become the most important market for the city both in terms of visitor arrivals and spending, said Lau.

He said HKTB planned to invest over 5.9 million HK dollars in marketing in 42 mainland cities this year, hoping to draw even more visitors.