Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki today chaired a meeting of the interdepartmental working group to co-ordinate the preparatory work for welcoming visitors to Hong Kong during the Mainland’s Labour Day Golden Week.
The Immigration Department estimates that around 5.71 million passengers, including Hong Kong residents and visitors, will pass through Hong Kong’s sea, land and air control points from May 1 to 5, among which 4.9 million are expected to pass through land control points.
The peak period of outbound and inbound passengers using land boundary control points (BCPs) will be May 3 and 5, with around 590,000 and 580,000 passengers expected respectively.
Passengers are advised to plan in advance, avoid making journeys during busy periods and keep track of radio and TV broadcasts on traffic conditions at various control points. The busy times at BCPs are available on the department’s website.
Furthermore, residents and passengers may also check the estimated waiting times at each land BCP via the Immigration mobile app.
In terms of Mainland inbound visitors, around 840,000 passengers are expected to visit Hong Kong via sea, land and air control points during the five-day Labour Day Golden Week. Compared with last year’s Labour Day Golden Week and this year’s Chinese New Year Golden Week, the daily average visitor arrivals will increase by 10% and 13%.
Special arrangements have been formulated at major tourist spots to cope with the increase of people flow.
The Transport Department will enhance transportation services connecting various BCPs, including increasing the frequency of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge shuttle bus (Gold Bus) and the Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle bus (Yellow Bus), and issue additional cross-boundary coach quotas to enhance services.
Regarding local transport services, the department has approached public transport operators to enhance their capacity, and reserve vehicles and manpower to meet the travel needs of visitors.
Among them, the MTR will enhance train services of the East Rail Line between Admiralty and Lo Wu/Lok Ma Chau at different times from May 1 to 5 for the convenience of residents and visitors.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Board has launched a dedicated webpage to provide useful information including the operating arrangements of major tourist attractions in Hong Kong.
Noting that a notable increase in visitor arrivals is estimated during the Labour Day Golden Week, Mr Chan said the Government will make good preparations for receiving visitors to ensure the smooth operation of various aspects in receiving them and offering a high-quality experience.
