Zhuhai, the nearest mainland city to Macao and one of China's five special economic zones, hosted 280,900 tourists during the Spring Festival holiday season stretching from January 24-30.

During the period, the tourism sector generated over 200 million yuan (about US$24.1 million) in total earnings, said local sources.

The average occupancy rate at local hotels was 79.38 percent, they said.

A sample survey shows that 70 percent of the tourists were from the Pearl River Delta, where the economy is comparatively developed.

(People's Daily 02/05/2001)