New measure of increasing duty-free allowance for luggage articles for visitors who are Mainland residents implemented at all ports

     A Government spokesman said today (August 1) that the Central Government's measure of increasing the duty-free allowance for luggage articles brought into the Mainland from Hong Kong by visitors who are Mainland residents from RMB5,000 to RMB12,000, while retaining the measure of allowing for additional duty-free goods at the value of RMB3,000 purchased at port entry duty-free stores, has been extended to all ports starting from today.
      
     The measure has been welcomed by visitors who are Mainland residents since its implementation on July 1 at six land ports, including Lo Wu, Futian (Lok Ma Chau Spur Line), Shenzhen Bay, West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and more. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG) believes that the measure is conducive to enriching the shopping experience of Mainland residents during their visits to Hong Kong, boosting the development of diversified tourism and stimulating Hong Kong's retail business.
      
     The HKSARG has displayed promotional materials at various ports and sent short message service (SMS) to inbound Mainland visitors via mobile network operators on the Mainland to promote the implementation arrangements of the measure. In addition, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched a new summer promotional event, Summer Chill Hong Kong, on July 11 to distribute 500 000 sets of Summer Triple Rewards covering sightseeing and transport, dining and consumption discounts to inbound overnight visitors.
      
     The HKSARG will continue to fully promote the measure and support the travel and retail trades to organise various promotional events to attract more overnight visitors to Hong Kong and encourage them to increase their consumption.
 
     As of end-June, the HKTB recorded about 21 million visitors arriving in Hong Kong, representing a year-on-year increase of around 60 per cent. The arrival of Mainland visitors reached about 16 million for the same period, a year-on-year increase of around 60 per cent, while the arrival of non-Mainland visitors was about 5 million, a year-on-year increase of more than 80 per cent.