Resumption of 'multiple-entry visa' boosts weekend arrivals by 10%: CE

The Chief Executive, John Lee, met with reporters before attending the Executive Council meeting today (Dec. 3). He said that on Dec. 1 (Sunday), the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) in Shenzhen will be resumed, extending the IVS endorsement from Shenzhen permanent residents to non-permanent residents with residence permits, with more than 10 million eligible applicants, each of whom will be able to visit Hong Kong an unlimited number of times in a year.

Lee pointed out that he is glad to see the resumption of the "multiple-entry visa", which has resulted in a 10% increase in the number of visitors to Hong Kong during weekends.

Lee said that the resumption of "multiple-entry visa" in Shenzhen, together with the earlier increase in the duty-free allowance for Mainland residents entering the Mainland from Hong Kong from RMB 8,000 to RMB 15,000 for baggage items, as well as other measures that have already been introduced to liberalize the entry of Mainland talents into Hong Kong, will greatly stimulate the impetus for Mainland visitors to come to Hong Kong, and stimulate Hong Kong's tourism and economic development.

Over the past two days, the overall operation of various visitor services in Hong Kong, including the ports, tourism facilities and public transportation network, has been smooth, he added.

Lee pointed out that different industries have also come up with their own strategies to seize the opportunities. Transportation operators, payment platforms, duty-free stores and shopping malls have tailor-made a number of cross-boundary transportation, dining and shopping offers for Shenzhen visitors, and the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has stepped up its publicity efforts to attract Shenzhen tourists to visit and shop in Hong Kong.

In addition, regarding the problem of parallel imported goods, Lee said that he is "confident that the problem can be well controlled". Due to the change in consumption patterns and the development of e-commerce, it is now a period of transformation, and the chances of parallel imported goods appearing are low. He pointed out that the government will also take inter-departmental actions in every case of a large number of travelers.

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Multiple-entry Individual Visit Scheme for Shenzhen residents officially comes into effect today