Hong Kong, mainland China increase daily quota of cross-border travellers by 15,000 each way to 65,000 for 4-day lead-up to Lunar New Year

Hong Kong and mainland China have agreed to increase the daily quota of cross-border travellers at land checkpoints by 15,000 to 65,000 each way for the four days before the Lunar New Year break to cope with surging demand.

The quotas for travellers in private cars and cross-boundary hire-car services passing through the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge would also be doubled to 2,000 daily from January 18 to 21 each way, authorities announced on Saturday.

The adjustments were made a day ahead of the resumption of the high-speed rail link connecting Hong Kong and the mainland, with most tickets for trips in the coming two weeks still up for grabs.

Hong Kong on January 8 introduced a 50,000 daily quota for people headed to the mainland through land checkpoints, among which 35,000 has been set aside for the crossing at Lok Ma Chau, 10,000 for Shenzhen Bay Port and 5,000 for Man Kam To.

Under the latest announcement, the 10,000 quota for Shenzhen Bay will be increased to 15,000 during the four days indicated, while the 35,000 figure for Lok Ma Chau Spur Line will rise to 45,000. The 5,000 quota for Man Kam To will remain unchanged.

“As Lunar New Year is approaching, we understand that people on both sides want to reunite with relatives and friends, and the demand for coming to Hong Kong or the mainland in the lead-up to the festival is relatively strong,” Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki wrote on his Facebook page.

He added that time slots from January 18 to 21 had been nearly or fully booked, thus after communicating with the Guangdong and Shenzhen governments, it was agreed that “there is room for a moderate increase in the daily number of people crossing the border through these checkpoints” for the four days before the break.