HONG KONG - The Hong Kong International Airport witnessed a significant drop in passenger number for November as social unrest continued to weigh down a wide range of industries, in particular tourism.

The Airport Authority Hong Kong said on Sunday in a statement that the airport handled 5 million passengers last month, representing a year-on-year decrease of 16.2 percent, the fourth straight drop since August.

Passenger volume continued to be affected by weak visitor traffic, with passengers to and from the mainland and Southeast Asia experiencing the most significant decreases, according to the statement.

Flight movements dropped 8.3 percent to 32,510 compared to the same month last year. Cargo throughput fell 3.4 percent year on year to 450,000 tonnes.

The unrest dragging on for about six months has scared tourists away and seriously affected tourism, one of the pillar sectors of Hong Kong's economy.

Business receipts of tourism, convention and exhibition services experienced the largest year on year fall of 27.8 percent in the third quarter since the SARS epidemic in 2003, official data has showed.