Visit scheme widens web

Michael Shum and Stacy Shi

Beijing has agreed to expand the coverage of the individual visit scheme to more mainland cities following Hong Kong's request to allow more mainland tourists to come over.

An announcement is expected within the next few days.

The central government has given out "a positive response" to the proposal to expand the coverage of the scheme from the current 49 cities.

"The expansion of the coverage is expected to include more second- to third-tier mainland cities, allowing their residents to visit Hong Kong in their own individual capacity," one source said.

It was noted that the move might be related to Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office director Xia Baolong's visit, which runs from today until February 28.

"Xia's visit is to study the economy and livelihood of Hong Kong," one insider noted. "It's normal for the central government to take measures to support the development of Hong Kong."

It is understood the expansion is one of three measures proposed by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to Beijing officials to boost the number of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong.

The other two are resuming the "multiple-entry" individual visit endorsement for Shenzhen residents and raising the current HK$5,000 tax-free limit for mainland tourists.

In response, Hong Kong's delegate to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, Starry Lee Wai-king, said she is confident that the expansion of the scheme will materialize as it has long been expected.

"Some are provinces that are off the list of the individual visit scheme," said Lee, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.

"It is possible there will be second- or third-tier cities that will be covered in the expansion. I also hope the expansion can take effect as soon as possible."

Her partymate, legislator Rock Chen Chung-nin, expects the expansion to take effect shortly.

Wholesale and retail sector legislator Peter Shiu Ka-fai welcomed the move to boost Hong Kong's economy.

Over 1.25 million mainland tourists visited during the eight-day Lunar New Year Golden Week, which ended on Saturday.

The number of mainland travelers during the holiday surpassed the prepandemic level in 2018 and led to an increase in the income of the catering and retail industries, according to the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.

"More mainlanders would visit the city under the extension, which would especially benefit retail and catering industries as one-third of the spending is contributed by visitors," Shiu said.

He urged authorities to issue multiple-entry permits to Shenzhen residents, and trial the "one trip per week" endorsements in the Greater Bay Area for facilitating exchanges.

Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki has said the administration is already in talks with its mainland counterparts to look into ways to do so.

Currently, residents from 49 mainland cities - including all 21 cities in Guangdong province as well as Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing and Hangzhou - can apply for a visa to visit Hong Kong through the scheme.

These residents can apply for an endorsement under the scheme to stay in Hong Kong for seven days, while residents of other mainland cities not included in the scheme can only visit Hong Kong by joining group tours.