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| Guangdong residents allowed to visit HK on their own |
| CCTV.COM 2003-07-29 09:07:49 |
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Starting from Monday, residents from four cities in south China's Guangdong province are allowed to visit neighboring Hong Kong on their own, instead of as part of a tour group. The relaxed travel arrangements came as a result of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangements, or CEPA, signed between the Hong Kong S.A.R. and the mainland, at the end of last month.
The new travel rules are currently restricted to the cities of Foshan, Jiangmen, Dongguan and Zhongshan. Under the new rule, these residents are eligible to make up to two Hong Kong trips with each visa valid for three months. These solo visitors can stay in Hong Kong for up to seven days each visit.
A visitor from Zhongshan says she only waited three days for travel permit. She says her permit cost only 20 RMB, much lower than the handling fees charged by travel agencies. At Lo Wu checkpoint, a speedy immigration clearance system is also in place. The Hong Kong travel permits issued by the mainland authorities are now machine－readable.
"This immigration clearance system was developed for the convenience of the queuing visitors. They first put their permits into the slots of our reading machines which will transmit their personal data into our computers. When their turns come, their data will show up on the screens. This can help reduce their queuing time," said Wai Chuen, senior principal immigration officer of Immigration Dept., HK SAR.
Mr. Wai says six such machines have now been installed at Lo Wu. He says the machines can help to cut immigration clearance time in half. That translates to about one minute of processing time for each visitor now.
Mr. Wai noted that on the first day not many visitors took advantage of the new relaxed travel arrangements. But he expects the number of visitors to sharply increase on weekends. To help better inform the solo travelers to Hong Kong, travel information kits are being dispatched at major cross－border checkpoints.
The four cities in Guangdong will soon be joined by Beijing. The new relaxed travel arrangements are then expected to widen to other areas. By a year from now, it's anticipated that all Guangdong residents will be able to visit the Hong Kong on their own, if they choose to do so.
The new measure is seen as a further boost to Hong Kong's tourism industry, still recovering from the blow of the SARS epidemic. Hong Kong's tourism－related sectors, such as retail, catering, hotel and entertainment are expected to benefit from the relaxed travel requirements. The mainland has become an increasingly important source of tourists to Hong Kong, contributing some 41 percent of over 16 million travelers to the Hong Kong SAR last year. And mainland visitors spend an average of 5,000 RMB each in Hong Kong, higher than visitors from other countries. The most popular purchases for Chinese mainlanders are consumer electronics, jewelry and clothing.
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Editor: Xiao Wei CCTV.com
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