New | Border malls make shopping easy for mainlanders, industry chief says
Call for convenient facilities emerges as immigration prepares to launch fast auto-clearance channels for visitors from across the border
More shopping centres are needed near the border and along railway lines to cope with an additional tens of millions of tourists expected in the coming years, an industry leader says.
Official estimates show the city may receive 70 million visitors annually in the next three years and 100 million within a decade, mostly from the mainland.
To cope with the influx, the government is working on an automated traveller clearance system at immigration checkpoints – similar to the E-channels for local residents – that will speed up entries from 75 seconds per person to about 20 seconds.
In the meantime, the city could set up retail facilities in the proposed locations to divert tourists from major shopping districts, Travel Industry Council chairman Michael Wu Siu-ieng suggested on Monday.
“Based on what these tourists like, more retail spots can be sent up along railway lines or near the border to achieve divergence,” Wu said on RTHK.
“When you have other available retail spots for them, they would not flood places such as Mong Kok or Causeway Bay at the same time.”
Lantau Island could host some of the facilities, he said.