With less than a year until Hong Kong co-hosts events for the 15th National Games, the Immigration Department carried out a tabletop drill simulating athlete arrivals, mass-transit delays and medical contingencies at land, sea and airport checkpoints. Director of Immigration Benson Kwok said the exercise proved that command chains and IT systems can handle high-volume, multi-scenario disruptions.
Lessons learned include faster data-sharing with mainland border posts and pre-assigning multilingual liaison officers to athlete clusters. The department will integrate findings into on-site drills scheduled for early 2026.
For companies moving teams or VIPs during the Games, the rehearsal signals confidence that clearance times will remain within service pledges. Travel managers should still build in buffer time during 14–28 October 2026, when peak flows are expected.
The National Games will be the first mega-sporting event to test Hong Kong’s fully-digital arrival card and e-channel upgrades launched this year.
Lessons learned include faster data-sharing with mainland border posts and pre-assigning multilingual liaison officers to athlete clusters. The department will integrate findings into on-site drills scheduled for early 2026.
For companies moving teams or VIPs during the Games, the rehearsal signals confidence that clearance times will remain within service pledges. Travel managers should still build in buffer time during 14–28 October 2026, when peak flows are expected.
The National Games will be the first mega-sporting event to test Hong Kong’s fully-digital arrival card and e-channel upgrades launched this year.
