Shenzhen residents will soon be able to make more frequent trips to Hong Kong under the resumption of a multiple-entry visa scheme, which was suspended in 2015 owing to concerns about overcrowding in the city and unlicensed cross-border trade.
Tourists at The Peak. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
From Sunday, Shenzhen residents can apply for a multiple-entry visa, which allows unlimited visits to Hong Kong for a year. They can stay for a maximum of seven days each time, according to a statement by the Exit and Entry Administration of the People’s Republic of China on Friday.
The announcement came after Chief Executive John Lee said on Thursday that he had been in talks with the central government on enhancing visa arrangements for mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong.
“I am grateful to the central government for all along valuing and considering my suggestions, and for looking into them and speeding up the progress. I believe there will be updates soon,” Lee said during a Cantonese speech at the launch ceremony of Hong Kong airport’s third runway.
Currently, Shenzhen residents can make weekly trips to Hong Kong under a “one-trip-per-week” policy. The arrangement was enacted in 2015 to replace the multiple-entry visa scheme, which was suspended due to concerns in Hong Kong about overcrowding and parallel trading.
Tourists arrive at West Kowloon Station by high-speed rail on National Day, October, 1, 2023. Photo: Hans Tse/HKFP.
Parallel trading refers to the phenomenon of mainland Chinese visitors making several same-day trips to and from Hong Kong to buy items – often, pharmaceuticals, household necessities and groceries – and take them back to China for resale. Residents said the traders caused congestion and sparked shortages of goods in the northern districts.
Before its suspension, the multiple-entry arrangement had prompted protests by pro-democracy groups urging the scheme to be scrapped. Protesters crowded shopping malls in Sha Tin and Tuen Mun – where Shenzhen shoppers frequented – accusing them of disrupting daily lives and squeezing out small shops to make way for pharmacies popular among mainland Chinese visitors.
Pro-establishment political parties were also in favour of modifying the policy by limiting the frequency of visits.
‘New life’ for tourism economy
In a statement on Friday, Hong Kong authorities said they “warmly welcomed” the resumption of the multiple-entry visa scheme.
The arrangements would allow Shenzhen residents to “come to Hong Kong more conveniently and inject new life into Hong Kong’s tourism, catering and retail industries, authorities said.
The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said the expanded visa scheme would significantly increase visits to the city. He added that the Tourism Board would step up advertisements of Hong Kong in Shenzhen to attract more tourists to come.
Tourists buy ice cream from an ice-cream truck in Hong Kong on May 2, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Authorities held a cross-department meeting on Thursday to ensure smooth arrangements at border checkpoints and popular tourist destinations, the statement added.
Fanny Yeung, the executive director of the Travel Industry Council, said December was a peak month for travel, and that mainland Chinese visitors would be able to enjoy the “Christmas spirit” in the city. She said she believed the multiple-entry visa scheme would benefit various sectors, adding that the tourism industry was working on half-day tours catering to Shenzhen residents who may not spend the night in the city.
Yeung also said she did not think the problem of parallel traders crowding Hong Kong would return as consumption patterns had changed in recent years.
Hong Kong has seen a steady recovery in mainland Chinese tourists since Covid-19 restrictions were scrapped, although statistics have shown a drop in average spending.
From January to September, the city recorded over 25.2 million visitor arrivals from mainland China, up 35 per cent from 18.7 million in the same period last year.
