Hong Kong recorded a significant increase in the number of visitors from the Chinese mainland on the first full weekend after the multiple-entry Individual Visit Scheme for Shenzhen residents was reinstated.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said on Sunday 145,000 mainland visitors entered the special administrative region on Saturday – a 28.5-percent increase over last month’s daily average number of visitors.
She said she’s optimistic that the resumption of the multiple-entry IVS, which allows more than 10 million Shenzhen residents to make unlimited visits to Hong Kong, with each stay capped at seven days, offers new opportunities for the local economy.
Under the previous policy, Shenzhen residents could visit the SAR only once weekly and stay for up to seven days.
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Law said there’s great potential benefits for various business sectors, including retail, dining, entertainment, transportation and tourism, with more visitors coming in.
She said she had heard mainland visitors saying they’ve noticed more smiles from Hong Kong residents and improvements in their communication in Mandarin.
Lam emphasized the importance of flexibility and creativity in seizing business opportunities, saying she’s grateful to the central government for its support and care for Hong Kong, which has led to numerous favorable measures for the city.
She also noted that Ocean Park was particularly lively on Sunday morning as the theme park unveiled giant pandas An An and Ke Ke to the public for the first time.
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The park had to enforce crowd control measures to cope with the huge crowds eager to greet the giant pandas – a gift from the central government to the HKSAR to mark its 27th anniversary this year.
