Hong Kong tourism chief says scrapping health declaration rule unlikely to lead to surge in cross-border travel, but catering and retail industries call for more efforts to boost spending
- Starting on Wednesday, mainland China will no longer require arrivals to supply health declaration, in form of ‘black’ QR code, for entry
- Tourism minister Kevin Yeung says change unlikely to affect flows over border, but catering, retail leaders say more needs to done to ensure residents spend at home
Mainland China lifting its health declaration policy is unlikely to increase the number of Hongkongers spending their cash up north, a city official and industry leaders have said, but catering and retail representatives have called for more government measures to woo visitors to the city and keep residents spending at home.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung on Monday said he believed the decision to no longer require the health declaration form allowing travellers to cross the border using a QR code, commonly known as a “black code”, from Wednesday would have little effect on the number of people heading north.
“I don’t think many people are deterred from going to the mainland because of the black code. They travel there based on what is attractive,” he told a radio programme.
Customs officials on the mainland implemented the policy in January 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the requirement covering all inbound and outbound travellers.
Representatives from the catering and retail industries welcomed the decision to scrap the “black code”, but said it would have little effect on the number of people heading to the mainland.
