Largest Scale Since Resumption of Human Traffic
Expansion Expected with High-Speed Rail Resumption on April 1
With the transition to the With-Corona policy, travel between China and Hong Kong has normalized, resulting in more than 100,000 mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong daily.
On the 19th, the Hong Kong Immigration Department announced that the number of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong the previous day reached 102,458, marking the highest level since the full resumption of personnel exchanges with China in early February. The local media outlet China News Network emphasized, "As the number of mainland visitors increases, Hong Kong streets are gradually returning to their bustling pre-COVID-19 state," adding, "Many commercial districts and shops are regaining popularity."
According to China's COVID-19 prevention policies, personnel exchanges with Hong Kong, which were suspended in early 2020, were conditionally resumed on January 8 and fully resumed on February 6. In February, the number of tourists visiting Hong Kong reached 1.46 million, three times that of the previous month, with over 1.1 million being mainland Chinese visitors. Starting April 1, with the full resumption of long-distance services on the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail, the number of visitors is expected to surge further.
Earlier, Hong Kong launched a massive campaign to restore its status as an "international city," which had declined due to the impact of COVID-19. It distributed 500,000 free airline tickets to tourists worldwide and planned to issue 1 million tourism vouchers.
Not only tourism but also business exchanges are resuming. According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP), HSBC, Hong Kong's largest bank, decided to expand the operating days of some branches to seven days a week to attract mainland customers. HSBC reported that non-resident transactions at all branches in February doubled compared to the previous month, with most being mainland Chinese customers. The number of new non-resident account openings has recovered to levels similar to the first half of 2019, and inquiries for new accounts continue to be received.
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