HK expects 11m border crossings during Easter and Ching Ming festive period

Hong Kong is expected to see around 11 million inbound and outbound travellers in Hong Kong during the upcoming Easter and Ching Ming festive period, according to the Immigration Department.

The estimate was made in consultation with the Shenzhen General Station of Exit & Entry Frontier Inspection. The two parties believe that around 9.5 million passengers will transit through land boundary control points from 28 March to 7 April, while around 1.5 million passengers will travel by air and sea.

The number of outbound and inbound passengers using land boundary control points will be higher, relatively, on 29 March 2024 and 1 April 2024, with around 601k and 589k passengers anticipated on those days respectively.

Additionally, the passenger traffic at the Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau, and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge control points will be highly active, with daily averages of approximately 207k, 169k, and 143k passengers respectively.

To cope with the anticipated numbers, the Immigration Department has deployed additional security guards to provide crowd management support.

On the other hand, MTR Corporation will enhance services on the island line, Tsuen Wan line, south island line and Disneyland Resort line starting this Friday (29 March 2024) during certain service hours over the Easter holidays. Around 300 additional train trips will also be operated to cater to the public’s travelling needs.

Don't miss: Mainland tourists spending less with shorter visits during CNY holiday in HK

Visiting cities in mainland China, such as Shenzhen, has become a popular trend among Hongkongers who seek to shop in malls and supermarkets. According to data from the Immigration Department, Hong Kong residents made more than 53.3m departures in 2023 to mainland China. However, mainland Chinese visitors made 26.5m visits to Hong Kong, which is approximately half of the number of departures made by Hong Kong residents.

Despite Hong Kong seeing more than 1.25m mainland tourists over the Chinese New Year holidays, each visitor only spent around HK$200 to HK$300 on average and returned the same day of their visit, according to Fanny Yeung, executive director, Travel Industry Council, who spoke on a Commercial Radio programme on 19 February.

Apart from mainland China, Hongkongers also have a fondness for travelling to Japan. A survey conducted by Standard Chartered shows that Hongkongers planned an average of eight trips this year with Tokyo being the most popular destination and 64% of Hongkongers earn miles through credit card spending, banking products, and flying.

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