HONG KONG, Feb 7 (Reuters) - After a disappointing end to 2006, Hong Kong will be hoping this month's Lunar New Year holidays generate a pick-up in the territory's tourist trade.


Annual visitor arrivals totalling 25 million have nearly doubled from five years ago but in the past few months growth has slowed sharply. Arrivals from mainland China, who make up more than half of all tourists, dropped in October and November from a year earlier before recovering in December.
On a fine winter afternoon, the atmosphere at Hong Kong Disneyland -- which opened to much fanfare in 2005 and has been a major draw for mainland visitors -- is subdued.
Tourists ambling through the turnstiles are in no rush: queues for the Jungle River Cruise and other attractions are light and the Main Street Corner Cafe is half-empty.
If a three-year tourist boom is over, analysts say, the territory needs to reflect on how it can maintain visitor numbers over the longer term so that tourism can continue to generate 6-8 percent of gross domestic product.
"It's a worry. Tourism is still growing but it's slowing somewhat due to extra competition from other destinations," said Tai Hui, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank. "That begs the question: do we want to keep attracting shoppers? We need to diversify."

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