There are signs that the tourism industry and the hotel occupancy levels are improving in Hong Kong, the Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government in Canada, said today (Sept 17).

Some 833,000 tourists visited Hong Kong in July this year, representing an increase of 26.5 per cent over the same month in 1997. There has also been a significant pick-up in hotel occupancy levels in recent months.

"This scenario is obviously helping our economic recovery, as it will facilitate job creation in a number of trades, including the hotel, aviation, travel, retail, catering, restaurant, and transport services sectors," Mr Tong said.

His comments follow the release of government figures showing that the provisionally adjusted unemployment rate for the period June-August 1998 was 5.0 per cent and the provisional underemployment rate was 2.5 per cent.

For the period May-July 1998, the adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8 per cent, while the underemployment rate was 2.6 per cent.

Mr Tong also pointed out the SAR Government's massive infrastructure developments in the next five years, with expenditure amounting to nearly C$47 billion, will help boost employment opportunities significantly.

On September 15 (Tuesday), the Executive Council gave the go-ahead for the construction of the territory's second railway network linking West Kowloon urban districts with the North West New Territories.

"To be known as the West Railway, work on the project will start in the next few months. It is expected to create more than 13,000 jobs in the long run."

The West Rail will also enhance the development potential of the vast rural area of the North West New Territories, which is one of the strategic growth areas in terms of housing in the next 20 years.

Mr Tong added that the SAR Government is also making good and substantial progress on various measures announced by the Task Force on Employment to tackle unemployment and facilitate job creation.