Hong Kong’s interdepartmental working group on festive arrangements has sounded the starting gun for what could be the city’s busiest holiday travel period since the pandemic. In a press release issued on 12 February, the Immigration Department (ImmD) forecast that 11.38 million passengers will pass through the territory’s land, sea and air checkpoints between 14 and 23 February, a 16 per cent jump on last year. Of these, 9.52 million entries and exits are expected at the city’s land boundary control points with Shenzhen, led by Lo Wu (200,000 daily), Lok Ma Chau Spur Line (187,000) and Shenzhen Bay (156,000).(info.gov.hk)
To keep traffic moving, ImmD has frozen frontline leave, opened extra counters, deployed temporary “pop-up” e-Channels and beefed up crowd-management staff. A joint command centre with police, customs and MTR Corp will operate at Lo Wu, while real-time congestion data will be pushed to the Easy Boundary website and mobile app so business travellers can reroute on the fly. Authorities are also reminding outbound executives to check Home-Visit Permit validity and ensure they carry replacement travel documents if their Hong Kong ID card has been reported lost.(info.gov.hk)
The surge is a barometer of the territory’s economic rebound. With China’s borders fully reopened and major trade fairs such as the Hong Kong Electronics Spring Expo returning in person, corporates are rushing in mainland sales teams and overseas delegates. Logistics providers have increased cross-boundary truck slots and warehousing near Lok Ma Chau to cope with just-in-time shipments.
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From a risk-management angle, mobility managers should brace for potential delays of up to two hours at peak times on 14 and 22 February. Companies are staggering travel dates, pre-booking shuttle buses on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and advising staff to use e-Channels where eligible. The government’s ability to keep queues short will be watched closely by multinationals assessing Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a regional hub.
