Hong Kong welcomes 144,000 visitors under expanded solo traveller scheme in third quarter
Number of inbound visitors from 10 mainland cities increases 16.3 per cent year on year between July and September, according to official figures
Hong Kong received nearly 144,000 visitors from 10 mainland Chinese cities under an expanded solo traveller scheme during the third quarter, up by 16.3 per cent from the same period last year.
The total number of inbound visitors from the 10 cities newly added to the mainland’s solo traveller scheme earlier this year reached 143,784 between July and September, up from the 123,669 recorded over the same period last year, official statistics released on Wednesday showed.
For the third quarter, 35,039 arrivals were logged in September, 59,471 in August and 49,274 in July.
“The scheme is currently implemented in 59 cities on the mainland, covering all provincial capitals in our country, which allows more mainland residents to explore Hong Kong’s unique appeals as a tourism destination more flexibly and conveniently,” Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said on Wednesday in a reply to a lawmaker’s questions.
Beijing announced the expansion of the Individual Visit Scheme in May, allowing residents from Taiyuan, Hohhot, Harbin, Lhasa, Lanzhou, Xining, Yinchuan and Urumqi to apply to visit Hong Kong on a solo basis instead of being restricted to tour group trips, starting from May 27.
The inclusion of the eight cities came after Qingdao and Xian were added in March – the first expansion since 2007.
Tourists can apply for a visa that allows them to stay in Hong Kong or Macau for up to seven days at a time. They can choose from single- or double-entry visas, valid for three months or a year.
