No plan to expand Hong Kong’s individual visit scheme to more mainland Chinese cities, says minister
Commerce Secretary Greg So says the government does not want to stoke conflicts even though the tourism sector is suffering
A much-debated scheme that has opened the floodgates for mainland visitors to Hong Kong will not be extended to more cities, the minister in charge said on Wednesday.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung contradicted a widely publicised claim by former chief secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen last month, when he quoted the mainland tourism chief as saying the SAR government had asked for more mainland cities to be included in the scheme.
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Under the individual visit scheme, residents from 49 mostly tier-1 and tier-2 cities can visit Hong Kong as individual travellers instead of having to join tour groups. First launched in 2003, the scheme has not included any new cities since 2007.
Statistics from the Tourism Board showed the number of mainland visitors in February declined 26 per cent year on year.
Overall visitor numbers in the first two months fell by 13.6 per cent compared with the same period last year.
At a special Finance Committee meeting on the government’s budget for commerce, industry and tourism in the coming year, several lawmakers questioned what measures the authorities would implement to boost the tourism industry amid the downturn.
“Since the individual visit scheme was changed to one visit per week in April last year, the number of mainland visitors has gone down … Hong Kong retailers and restaurants have been affected,” Sin Chung-kai of the Democratic Party said. “Would [the government] talk with mainland authorities to open up the scheme to more mainland cities?”
So replied: “We have to avoid letting too many visitors come to Hong Kong, which would affect residents’ daily lives. We don’t want conflicts to emerge. At this stage, we have no plans to open up the individual visit scheme to more cities.”
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The minister added that the government would instead focus more on overseas markets.
“There’s a big potential for growth in short-haul markets. We hope to see more overseas visitors who would stay overnight come to Hong Kong,” he said.
In the coming year, the government plans to spend close to HK$380 million on tourism promotion – HK$174 million more than the revised estimate for the fiscal year that has just ended.
Anthony Lau Chun-hon, executive director of the Tourism Board, said authorities had yet to decide how to allocate the funds to different areas, but a large chunk would be spent on short-haul markets.
Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung Yao-chung said he had hoped the individual visit scheme could be expanded, but he welcomed the plan to attract more visitors from short-haul markets for now.
“It doesn’t matter where they are from. As long as they are willing to come and spend money in Hong Kong, we welcome them,” he said.
