Shenzhen residents have made 1.04 million trips to Hong Kong since the resumption of a multi-entry visa scheme last month, marking a 22.3 per cent year-on-year increase, according to mainland Chinese authorities.
Lu Ning, spokeswoman for the National Immigration Administration, also said on Tuesday that authorities had issued 299,000 multi-entry permits to Hong Kong since December 1.
“The implementation of the policy is of significant positive significance in facilitating mainland residents to further travel to and from Hong Kong and Macau for sightseeing, shopping and consumption, promoting the economic and social development of Hong Kong and Macau, and better integrating Hong Kong and Macau into the overall national development,” Lu said.
Beijing announced in November that Shenzhen residents could apply for multi-entry visas to Hong Kong after a nine-year halt to the scheme.
From 2009, Shenzhen residents were allowed to apply for multi-entry endorsements, which enabled holders to freely enter Hong Kong within a one-year validity period.
The multiple-entry provision was replaced by a “one-trip-per-week” arrangement in 2015 following mounting complaints from Hong Kong residents about parallel trading and overcrowding in border towns such as Sheung Shui and Tuen Mun.