Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu called on the tourism industry on Tuesday to beef up its services to reflect Hong Kong’s appeal and maintain the tourism boom fueled by the nation’s restoration of its multiple-entry policy for Shenzhen residents traveling to the special administrative region, as well as other favorable measures.
The mainland authorities announced on Friday the multiple-entry Individual Visit Scheme would be restored from Dec 1 for Shenzhen residents visiting Hong Kong, allowing them unlimited visits, with each stay capped at seven days. Previously, Shenzhen residents could visit Hong Kong only once a week for a maximum stay of seven days.
Speaking ahead of a weekly Executive Council meeting, Lee noted that the number of travelers entering the city through land checkpoints had gone up by about 10 percent in the past two days, saying he’s confident such a positive trend will continue.
He said various aspects of Hong Kong’s tourism services, including cross-boundary facilities and public transportation networks, have been running smoothly, and various sectors have rolled out concessions for visitors from Shenzhen.
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Lee pointed to projections by the catering business that its business turnover is likely to climb by 20 percent from the past two years.
He said with the approach of the peak Christmas and New Year’s Day travel season, a series of activities planned are expected to draw more tourists to the SAR.
In addition, with Hong Kong International Airport’s three-runway system in full operation from Nov 28, the airport is expected to handle 120 million passenger trips by 2035, creating more than HK$140 billion ($18 billion) in revenue, as well as 123,000 direct and 165,000 indirect jobs.
Hong Kong recorded 36.6 million visitors in the first 10 months of this year – up by almost 40 percent over the previous year.
The number of travelers from Southeast Asia saw the fastest growth, particularly those from the Philippines, reaching nearly 130 percent of the pre-pandemic levels.
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Lee said tourism-related sectors should keep enhancing and innovating their services to showcase Hong Kong’s unique characteristics and leave a good impression on tourists.
