The multi-entry permit scheme between Hong Kong and neighbouring Shenzhen is likely to expand to other mainland cities this year, according to National People’s Congress Standing Committee member Starry Lee Wai-king.
The South China Morning Post reported Lee as pushing for Beijing and Shanghai to join the scheme, in particular. “They have relatively large populations and they are quite far away from Hong Kong, which means visitors [will] stay longer if they come to visit,” she noted.
From 1 December last year, the authorities granted millions of Shenzhen residents the ability to apply for permits that allow them an unlimited number of trips of up to seven days to Hong Kong. Since 2015, they had been permitted to visit the SAR only once per week.
[See more: Hong Kong tourists are shunning Macao for Shenzhen, expert warns]
Lee indicated that other mainland cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) would also be obvious choices for inclusion in the scheme.
She said that Hong Kong’s travel sector had been highlighted at the recently concluded “two sessions” – a double-header meeting of China’s political elites and policy makers. Beijing officials viewed the sector as an important way of promoting more international exchanges, Lee noted.
Zhuhai residents have a slightly different multi-entry scheme with Macao, allowing them to visit the city once a week and stay for up to seven days. Hengqin residents, meanwhile, can travel to Macao as many times as they want and stay for up to seven days.
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