DUTY-FREE MEASURES EXTENDED

The central government's new measure of increasing the duty-free allowance for Mainland residents entering the Mainland from Hong Kong has been extended to cover all ports starting from today.

The measure, which raises the duty-free allowance for luggage articles brought into the Mainland from RMB5,000 to RMB12,000, with an additional allowance of RMB3,000 for duty-free goods purchased at port entry duty-free stores being retained, was introduced from July 1 at six land ports.

Noting that the measure has been welcomed by visitors who are Mainland residents, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government highlighted that the increased allowance 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 Hong Kong SAR Government 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 measure.

In addition, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched a summer promotional event, Summer Chill Hong Kong, on July 11. This involved distributing 500,000 packages of Summer Triple Rewards covering sightseeing, transport, dining and consumption discounts to inbound overnight visitors.

The Hong Kong SAR Government said it will continue to promote the measure and support the travel and retail trades in organising various promotional events to attract more overnight visitors to Hong Kong and encourage them to increase their consumption.

In the first half of 2024, the HKTB recorded about 21 million visitor arrivals in Hong Kong, representing a year-on-year increase of around 60%. The number of Mainland visitors reached about 16 million for the same period, a year-on-year increase of around 60%, while non-Mainland visitor arrivals stood at about 5 million, a year-on-year increase of more than 80%.

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