Hong Kong leader John Lee welcomes Beijing’s move to expand solo traveller scheme to Xian, Qingdao – cities with high-income, big-spending residents
- Residents from the two mainland Chinese cities can apply for travel endorsement from March 6, according to Beijing authorities
- Tourists from cities in Heilongjiang province, such as Harbin, will be added to solo traveller scheme in the next phase, sources say
Hong Kong’s leader has expressed confidence that allowing people from the mainland Chinese cities of Xian and Qingdao to visit on an individual basis will benefit the local tourism sector and economy, given their residents’ high incomes and spending power.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Friday welcomed the central government’s decision to permit residents from the two highly populated cities to apply to visit Hong Kong under an expanded solo traveller scheme, starting on March 6.
“These two cities’ tens of millions of residents, trillions of yuan in gross domestic product [GDP] and annual growth prove their residents are in high-income, high-spending consumer groups,” he said shortly after the announcement by the mainland’s Exit-Entry Administration Bureau.
Lee said it would be particularly helpful for Hong Kong in terms of luring high value-added overnight visitors, benefiting the hotel, tourism and catering sectors.
He noted that the GDP of Xian and Qingdao reached 1.2 trillion yuan (US$166.7 billion) and 1.6 trillion yuan in 2023, growing by 5.2 per cent and 5.9 per cent year on year, respectively.
“This once again proved President Xi Jinping’s concern and support for Hong Kong,” he said. “[It] is a reflection of the central government taking the views and the proposals of the Hong Kong government seriously.”
Lee said that for every 1.5 million tourists, the city’s GDP would get a 0.1 per cent boost and authorities would strive hard to equip Hong Kong with enough accommodation and facilities for visitors.