The variety of northbound travellers from Hong Kong is unlikely to fluctuate closely when mainland China lifts its well being declaration requirement for crossing the border, a metropolis official has stated, whereas vowing to improve a cruise terminal and faucet into rising tendencies to help the tourism business.

Secretary for Tradition, Sports activities and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung on Monday stated he believed the choice to now not require the well being declaration kind permitting travellers to cross the border utilizing a QR code, generally often called a “black code”, from Wednesday would have little impact on the variety of folks heading north.

“I don’t assume many individuals are deterred from going to the mainland due to the black code. They journey there based mostly on what’s enticing,” he instructed a radio programme.

Customs officers on the mainland carried out the coverage in January 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the requirement overlaying all inbound and outbound travellers.

Final Covid-19 restriction on journey between Hong Kong and mainland China dropped

The minister’s remarks come amid native efforts to encourage extra mainlanders to go to Hong Kong and issues that an growing variety of metropolis residents now favour crossing the border throughout public holidays and on weekends to hunt for retail bargains.

Immigration figures confirmed that greater than 459,000 Hongkongers had travelled north utilizing land checkpoints over the weekend. The determine was greater than double the variety of mainland guests who got here to the town throughout the identical interval.

As a part of efforts to help native industries, Chief Government John Lee Ka-chiu introduced in his coverage handle final week a plan to spice up the event of the cruise tourism financial system, beginning in June subsequent 12 months.

Yeung on Monday stated authorities would research find out how to broaden the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal’s industrial area and whether or not the federal government wanted to evaluation how the ability was used.

The power was constructed to accommodate bigger cruise ships that would not berth at Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, the tourism chief defined.

The operator of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in August stated the positioning’s major goal was as a house port and non permanent cease for boarding and disembarking passengers, and rejected a extra retail-friendly revamp.

Yeung on Monday stated all 5,000 sq. metres of the terminal’s industrial area had been leased out and authorities would evaluation whether or not zones resembling a rooftop backyard could possibly be used for non permanent weekend bazaars, in addition to probably contemplate find out how to flip the positioning into an exhibition venue.

“The terminal has hosted conferences and exhibitions prior to now few years, and that is one fundamental route for improvement to maximise utilization of its area,” he stated.

The minister added authorities intervention had addressed transport bottlenecks on the terminal after passengers have been earlier compelled to attend for an hour to get a taxi.

1000’s return to Hong Kong after having fun with good offers in ‘no-brainer’ Shenzhen

Yeung stated authorities by subsequent 12 months would additionally revise the 2017 improvement blueprint for the tourism business to meet up with post-pandemic tendencies.

Mainland vacationers had beforehand flocked to Hong Kong to spend on retail items and go to conventional hotspots, however have been now turning to cultural websites and neighbourhoods that provided a glimpse of the native life-style, he defined.

“We wish to talk about with the business how we are able to embody new components or options to broaden the sorts of tourism, resembling heritage tourism, or promote our nation parks, marine life and night time skyline,” he stated.

Yeung stated extra vacationers have been visiting native venues resembling cha chaan teng, well-known Hong Kong-style cafes, which may assist increase enterprise for smaller outlets and encourage folks in the long term to speculate or relocate to the town.