Home » World » Hong Kong has only 46,000 inbound passengers after more than a week of customs clearance | China, Hong Kong and Macau | Quarantine free | High-speed rail

Hong Kong has only 46,000 inbound passengers after more than a week of customs clearance | China, Hong Kong and Macau | Quarantine free | High-speed rail

[The Epoch Times, January 18, 2023](Reported by Epoch Times reporters Chen Kai and Ye Zeyu from Hong Kong)China, Hong Kong and Macauimplementimmunity from quarantineClearanceFor more than a week, the number of people entering Macau has left Hong Kong by a large margin. According to data from the Macau Tourism Bureau, more than 55,000 inbound tourists were recorded last Saturday (14th), while figures from the Hong Kong Immigration Department showed that only 9,272 mainland tourists entered the country on the 14th, and the total number of mainland visitors in the past week was only 46,000 passengers. In addition, the authorities announced that starting today,high speed railDaily two-way tickets increased from 14,000 to 20,000.

The market in Macau has been crowded with people recently, and the sidewalks leading to the Ruins of St. Paul’s, a tourist attraction, are also very crowded. There are many people going to buy New Year’s goods, and the police need to be on the scene to divert the flow of people.Senna Helena de Senna Fernandes, director of the Macau Tourism Bureau, said that many tourists have not visited Macau in the past three years, but they have been exempted from nucleic acid testing since last week.ClearanceAfter that, the number of tourists increased significantly. She also predicted that during the 7-day Chinese New Year holiday, the number of tourists visiting Macau could maintain an average of 47,000 per day.

From January 7th to 13th, Macau recorded a total of 261,346 inbound tourists, with a daily average of 37,335, an increase of 80.4% from last year’s New Year’s Eve to the first week of January 6 this year. The monthly average number of daily visitors rose by 189.2%. Among them, more than 55,000 inbound tourists were recorded on the 14th, returning to more than half of the level before the epidemic, and the highest number of single-day inbound tourists since the epidemic. Among them, mainland tourists accounted for 44,025, and Hong Kong tourists accounted for 10,084.

On the other hand, the number of mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong is not as expected. According to the statistics of the Hong Kong Immigration Department, only 9,272 mainland tourists entered the country on the 14th of this month. As for the total number of mainland visitors in the past week, it was only 46,000.

Macau is not like the current mainland and Hong Kong, where passengers are still required to show a 48-hour nucleic acid test and quota, which is more convenient for tourists. Xu Wangmeilun, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Industry Council, pointed out that the industry is currently waiting for the authorities to make a further announcement in response to the quarantine policy around mid-February, which is believed to bring direction to the reopening of one-stop tourism.

Yao Pak-liang, member of the Legislative Council of the tourism industry, said in a program of Hong Kong and Taiwan yesterday that the increase inhigh speed railThe number of daily two-way tickets is mainly to meet the needs of Hong Kong people to visit relatives and do business before the Chinese New Year. Currently, high-speed rail passengers are mainly free to act, and hope to organize high-speed rail tours in the future.

Yao Boliang also said that after the first stage of customs clearance between Hong Kong and the mainland, there has been no significant increase in the number of inbound tourists. At present, there has not been a big rebound in hotel booking demand, but it has gradually increased. He believes that in the future, we should focus on attracting overnight tourists to help boost the economy. He urged the authorities to communicate with relevant parties in the mainland as soon as possible, hoping to resume visas for mainland delegations after the Chinese New Year. Yao mentioned that a small and medium-sized cruise ship will arrive in Hong Kong today, describing it as good news, saying that cruise tours can attract inbound tourists and drive multiple stops on a journey.

Two-way high-speed rail tickets increased to 20,000

The Secretary of the Bureau of Transport and Logistics stated on social platforms last night that after coordinating with relevant mainland authorities, the number of high-speed rail tickets available for sale will increase from 10,000 to 14,000 per day for both directions starting from the 17th.

The Bureau of Transport and Logistics announced again yesterday that after reviewing the port operation and ticket sales situation in the first two days with MTR and relevant departments in the mainland, they unanimously agreed to increase the number of tickets available for sale each day. Starting today, daily two-way tickets Increased from 14,000 to 20,000.

Director Lin Shixiong said that he is very happy to adjust the number of tickets available for sale again, so that more passengers can use the high-speed rail service to travel between the two places. He has instructed MTR to prepare for the increase in ridership in order to enhance the travel experience of citizens. Since the resumption of services of the Hong Kong Section of the XRL and the West Kowloon Port, the operation has been generally smooth.

After the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail resumed service on the 16th, a total of about 8,500 people took the high-speed rail to and from different stations in Hong Kong and the mainland throughout the day. ◇

Editor in charge: Li Wei

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.