Tourists from eight new Individual Visit Scheme cities to receive HK$200 coupons

The city’s Tourism Board will hand out HK$200 coupons to tourists from eight new mainland cities included in the Individual Visit Scheme as Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu thanked Beijing’s support for extending the coverage of the scheme twice in three months. 

The eight cities include Taiyuan of Shanxi province, Hohhot of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Harbin of Heilongjiang, Lhasa of Tibet, Lanzhou of Gansu, Xining of Qinghai, Yinchuan of Ningxia, and Urumqi of Xinjiang, bringing the total number to 59. 

Speaking on Tuesday before the Executive Council meeting, Lee said the scheme is a major source of tourists for Hong Kong and accounted for about 60 percent of all mainland tourists recorded last year. 

The eight newly added cities are all provincial capitals with their growing economies and high spending power. The total population accumulated to over 38 million and the GDP reached 280 yuan Renminbi in 2023, Lee added. 

He believes these eight cities can bring about 300,000 tourists to Hong Kong every year, about HK$1.2 billion to HK$1.5 billion of spending and add about HK$700 million to HK$900 million to the city’s economy. 

Lee continued that HKTB will hand out HK$200 coupons to theses tourists for them to spend at different restaurants and shops and will invite respective tourism representatives and mainland media to come to Hong Kong and introduce them to the city’s unique features. 

HKTB will also collaborate with mainland social media and airlines to promote diversified in-depth traveling experiences, like culture, heritage, green and creative tourism, and to provide latest dining guide. 

Lee also urged the hotel, catering and retail industries to adapt to the changes in tourists’ tastes, preferences and spending modes, saying now is the time for them to find new tourism resources and come up with new products. 

Lee noted that the Transport and Logistics Bureau and the Airport Authority will lead airlines in stepping up flight services between Hong Kong and these eight cities. 

As for the fireworks display on May 1, Lee said the effect was impacted by the bad weather and authorities will learn from this experience. He further pointed to the drones show last Saturday and said tourists found the performance refreshing and shocking. 

There are also voices that call on authorities to run these events longer and more frequently, he added.