Border control points are expected to receive cross-border crowds during the Easter holiday, with the Immigration Department stepping up manpower deployment to ease the passenger traffic.

The department estimated on Monday that Hong Kong’s sea, land and air control points will see 6.04 million crossings during the upcoming Easter festive period from April 17 to 21.

It added that around 5.05 million passengers are expected to pass through land boundary control points.

“The number of outbound and inbound passengers using land boundary control points will be relatively higher on April 18 and April 21, with around 759,000 passengers and 618,000 passengers respectively,” the department said.

The department also expects heavy traffic at Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay ports, with an average daily crossing of 225,000, 202,000 and 164,000 respectively.

“To cope with the anticipated heavy traffic during the festive period, the ImmD has minimized leave for frontline officers for flexible deployment and the operation of extra clearance counters and kiosks,” it said.

The department will also set up a joint command center at Lo Wu port with the police, the Customs and Excise Department and the MTR Corporation, as well as maintain close communication with mainland authorities.

Meanwhile, the local catering sector expected a sluggish market during the Easter holiday due to the outbound travel of many Hongkongers.

Catering veteran Simon Wong Ka-wo, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades, said local restaurants already saw a 20 percent drop in business during the Ching Ming Festival.

“Over the past few years, our business took a significant hit due to the influence of citizens’ outbound travel, the booking situation was far from ideal,” Wong said.

“The catering business during Easter last year fell over 30 percent compared to normal days, with some restaurants seeing over 50 percent drop,” he added.

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Cross-border crowds expected amid Easter holiday