Macao drivers have made over 2.65 million cross-boundary trips via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge since a preferential policy to ease cross-boundary travel took effect two years ago.

The Northbound Travel for Macao Vehicles program, which came into effect on January 1, 2023, allows eligible Macao private cars to travel between the special administrative region and Guangdong province via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge without the need to obtain a regular quota.

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The policy simplifies Macao residents’ travel to the Chinese mainland for tourism, family visits and business. Private car owners with Macao license plates need to register online to become eligible to travel.

According to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge border inspection station, over 50,000 Macao drivers and 38,000 vehicles with Macao license plates have completed registration and obtained the necessary qualification.

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As a growing number of Macao residents travel to the mainland on weekends and holidays amid deepened regional integration, authorities have raised the daily maximum number of Macao vehicles permitted to travel under the program from the initial 100 vehicles to 2,000. They are allowed to stay in Guangdong province for up to 30 days per trip.

Since the start of this year, the Zhuhai port of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has dealt with more than 27 million cross-boundary trips by passengers and over 5.5 million such trips by vehicles, growing 72 percent and 71.4 percent year-on-year, respectively. Among the travelers, trips made by Macao residents amounted to five million, which was 1.26 times the figure of the same period a year earlier.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com