‘Hong Kong should look at economic impact of northbound travel amid new motorist scheme’

Regina Ip says data showing more than 60,000 vehicles had made use of cross-border travel scheme could provide valuable insights

Reading Time:3 minutes

A scheme opened for applications last year to allow residents to drive into Guangdong province via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. Photo: Eugene Lee

Published: 7:31pm, 21 Jun 2024Updated: 7:47pm, 21 Jun 2024

A top Hong Kong government adviser has voiced worries about the economic impact of residents increasingly heading north, after official data showed more than 60,000 private vehicles had made use of a special scheme allowing quick cross-border travel.

Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee was speaking at a Legislative Council panel meeting on Friday where authorities also discussed how a national policy that required passengers to walk through checkpoints might have contributed to bottlenecks on the mainland China side of the border.

Government statistics provided to Legco showed drivers of more than 60,000 vehicles, which only had Hong Kong plates, had signed up for the “Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles” scheme and visited the mainland using the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge since last July.

Ip, convenor of the key decision-making Executive Council and also a legislator, said the data could provide valuable insight into the trend of Hong Kong consumers increasingly choosing to visit the mainland.

“More and more people are heading north and that is having an impact on our economy, as I have heard that the business of restaurants north of Sha Tin has been very poor,” she told the panel.

“Will you ask the government economist to run an analysis on what impact [the trend] has on us, and how Hong Kong should transform its economy to cope with it? The bridge should provide a lot of data, such as the types and time periods of vehicles coming in and out.”