STATEMENT BY THE HONG KONG TOURISM BOARD ON THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE POLICY ON MULTIPLE-ENTRY INDIVIDUAL VISIT ENDORSEMENTS FOR SHENZHEN RESIDENTS BY THE MAINLAND AUTHORITIES

In response to the adjustment of the policy on the multiple-entry Individual Visit endorsements (multiple-entry endorsements) for Shenzhen residents under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) by the Mainland authorities, Dr Peter Lam, Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), has made the following statement:

“The HKTB believes the adjustment from unlimited visits to one visit per week for Shenzhen residents holding multiple-entry endorsements is a decision made by the Mainland and Hong Kong authorities after careful consideration of the impact caused by parallel trading activities to the Hong Kong community and the tourism capacity of Hong
Kong.

“In the Mainland, the focus of the HKTB’s marketing strategy in recent years has been to attract overnight visitors. Currently, over 90% of Shenzhen visitors who travel to Hong Kong on the multiple-entry endorsements are same-day visitors. We therefore believe the policy adjustment will not have a significant impact on the number of overnight visitors to
Hong Kong, but the impact on the retail and catering sectors may be felt in the next few months.

“However, in recent months, the number of overnight Mainland visitors, especially those travelling under the IVS, has shown a declining trend. The tourism sector hopes that when the time is appropriate, more Mainland cities will be included in the IVS to open up new overnight visitor sources. This proposal was reflected to the Mainland authorities during the meeting between representatives from the local tourism sector and the China National Tourism Administration arranged by the HKTB in January.”