With China’s seven-day National Day holiday only a week away, Hong Kong is ramping up manpower and crowd-control measures at all sea, land and airport checkpoints. The Immigration Department told a government coordination meeting on 23 September that it expects 1.29 million mainland tourists between 1 and 7 October—an average daily arrival rate more than five per cent higher than last year. Chief Secretary Eric Chan ordered departments to open extra immigration counters, defer frontline leave and activate emergency transport plans. Police will deploy uniformed officers to manage traffic at popular scenic spots such as Sai Kung’s High Island Reservoir East Dam, while the Transport Department is adding Green Minibus services and real-time crowd alerts on its mobile app. The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department will extend its online reservation system for hikers at Po Pin Chau to prevent bottlenecks. For the city’s retail and hospitality sectors, the projected influx is welcome news. Mainland visitors accounted for more than 70 per cent of total tourist spending pre-pandemic, and tour agencies have reported a 30 per cent jump in Golden Week package bookings compared with 2025. Still, businesses are wary of labour shortages and are urging the government to fast-track temporary work permits for part-time staff. Corporate mobility managers should note that border wait-times at Shenzhen Bay, Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau are likely to spike during peak mornings and evenings. Companies sending employees into the mainland for meetings may wish to schedule travel outside those windows or route staff via the HZMB, where Seamless e-Channel lanes can shave ten minutes off clearance. Visitors using the HKSAR e-Channel should ensure passports have at least six months’ validity and download the “Easy Boundary” app for live queuing data.
Source: South China Morning Post
