Tourism bounces back with 212m arrivals, departures

Hong Kong made a significant recovery in its tourism sector last year, with a total of approximately 212 million arrivals and departures recorded. This figure represents about 70 percent of the prepandemic level seen in 2019, according to Benson Kwok Joon-fung, the director of the Immigration Department.

Tourists amounted to around 34 million, with mainland tourists accounting for about 26.76 million, showing a 70-fold increase compared to 2022.

The majority of visitors, approximately 25.67 million, entered Hong Kong through land control points, which accounted for 75.5 percent of all arrivals. Around 6.92 million arrived via the airport.

Kwok said last year marked a return to normalcy, with tourists again choosing the SAR as an ideal destination, adding the importance of strengthening the connection between Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area and supporting the integration into the country's development.

Regarding immigration control, he said effective measures would be implemented at border control points per the law.

"We will also assess national security risks when processing visa applications to prevent the entry of individuals who pose a threat, aligning with Article 23 legislation."

Kwok said each visa or entry application would be handled by immigration policies and laws, irrespective of the applicants' occupation or field.

"This is not a blanket ban. We will handle each visa or entry application per laws and immigration policies, regardless of [the applicants'] occupation or field of work," he said.

Deputy director (control, visa and documents) Ching Wo-mok said 23,171 people were refused entry last year, accounting for less than 0.07 percent of all inbound visitors - lower than that of 2019, which was about 0.1 percent.

On various government schemes to lure talent, the department received more than 220,000 applications last year, with about 135,000 approved. About 90,000 people have arrived in the city.

Among them, 62,000 Top Talented Pass Scheme applications were received and nearly 50,000 were approved. Of the 4,800 applications received last month, nearly 98 percent have been approved.

Kwok said officials are looking into ways to fast-track the applications.

He also said over 300 additional staff will be deployed at border control points to handle the estimated 7.5 million cross-boundary travelers during the Lunar New Year holiday.

"About six million passenger trips will be made through land boundary control points, and the peaks will be on Sunday and Wednesday, with about 460,000 and 600,000 trips expected to be made respectively."

Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge are expected to be busy, with an estimated daily traffic of 100,000 to 170,000 passenger trips each, with Lo Wu having the largest influx, Kwok said.

The department will reduce leave for frontline staff and deploy additional manpower - monitoring the situation for timely response and deployments, he added.

Kwok hoped 15 minutes for each Hong Konger to cross the border would be maintained, believing over 700 e-channels at border control points are adequate.

Separately, the department's Registration of Persons Kwun Tong Office will be relocated to Tseung Kwan O on June 11. People can now make appointments online to apply for identity cards at the TKO office.

The new headquarters will be equipped with new travel document submission and collection kiosks, which will combine the functions of HKID and SAR passport applications.

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com