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The Immigration Department today (May 31) welcomed the 2 millionth individual visitor to Hong Kong from the Mainland since the individual visit scheme was launched on July 28, 2003.

Mr Chan Man-lang, Divisional Commander of the Harbour Division presented Mai Jiemei with a certificate and a souvenir when she arrived at the China Ferry Terminal.

Ms Mai was travelling with her boyfriend and her mother and she revealed that she was going to marry her boyfriend - Mr Chow, a Hong Kong resident - on this trip. Ms Mai, who has travelled to Hong Kong under the individual visit scheme many times, said she was thrilled to be recorded as the 2 millionth individual visitor. She said it was an unforgettable experience.

"Since the implementation of the individual visit scheme, residents of Guangdong province as well as Beijing and Shanghai have been able to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis. The scheme will be further extended to nine cities in three provinces, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Fujian, from July 1, 2004, " Mr Chan said. "The rapid increase in the number of people arriving in this category shows that the scheme is being warmly received."

"During the Labour Day holidays, from April 29 to May 9, we had about 156,000 individual visitors, an average of about 14,000 per day. On May 1, the highest daily record was attained with 34,000 individual visitors arriving in Hong Kong. The monthly arrival figures also soared from 47,000 for the first month after the implementation to over 225,000 in the latest month. The highest monthly record was in January 2004, when over 355,000 individual visitors arrived in Hong Kong." Mr Chan said.

"We are glad to see that the number of individual visitors reached 2 million today. With more cities due to join the scheme later this year, even more Mainlanders are expected to travel to Hong Kong, which will certainly have a positive impact on the local economy. We will continue with our efforts to enhance the smooth flow of passengers at the control points and to provide them with a quality immigration service," he said.

Ends/Monday, May 31, 2004

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