Hong Kong, May 16 (IANS): Hong Kong recorded 4,125 visitor arrivals in April, a slump of nearly 100 per cent from the same time last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism authorities said.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced Friday that between January and April, visitor arrivals declined by 85.3 per cent year-on-year to less than 3.5 million, reports Xinhua news agency.

Before mid-March, the average daily arrivals to Hong Kong were about 3,000 to 4,000, which fell to about 100 in April as the city strengthened its pandemic-prevention measures, including those on visitors' arrivals and quarantine.

The HKTB said it is working on a series of initiatives to prepare for the recovery of Hong Kong's tourism industry.

Regarding Hong Kong's outbound markets, the HKTB said the promotion will be up to the situation in these markets and the board will closely monitor and evaluate local pandemic situation, measures on lockdown and quarantine and other aspects.

Hong Kong's flag carrier Cathay Pacific on Friday released a report on its passenger and cargo volumes in April, showing that the airline and its subsidiary Cathay Dragon carried a total of 13,729 passengers in April, a decrease of 99.6 per cent year-on-year.

The cargo and mail carried by the two airlines in April dropped by 48.3 per cent from the same period last year to 84,634 tonnes.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact Cathay Pacific in an unprecedented way and year-to-date up to April.

It made an unaudited loss of HK$4.5 billion ($580.6 million) at the full-service airline level, Cathay Pacific Group Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said in the report.

"We are evaluating all aspects of our business to ensure that we remain strong and competitive when we emerge from this crisis," he added.