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The Planning Department released today (September 20) results of the Cross-boundary Travel Survey 2009 that was conducted in November last year. The survey results revealed that 7.7 million cross-boundary passenger trips were made during the two-week survey period, or a daily average of 546,800 trips, an increase of 11% over that in the 2007 survey.
Trips by people living in Hong Kong still took up the largest share, constituting 69% of all cross-boundary trips. About 57% of the trips were for leisure, followed by visiting relatives and friends (18%) and for business (16%). Shenzhen remained the most common trip destination, accounting for 73% of the trips.
The share of visitors from the Mainland continued to increase and comprised 18% of all cross-boundary passenger trips. Compared with the 2007 survey, the number of trips by Mainland visitors increased by 27%, reaching a daily average of 97,300. About 42% of the trips by Mainland visitors were from Shenzhen and 58% of Mainland visitors came to Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). Regarding trip purpose, 59% of Mainland visitors came to Hong Kong for leisure, 20% to visit relatives and friends and 12% for business.
There was a daily average of 36,700 trips made by Shenzhen residents in the 2009 survey. Of these trips, 44% were under the IVS with multiple-entry endorsements, 13% under the IVS with single-entry endorsements and 43% not under the IVS. About 69% of these trip-makers from Shenzhen said that they had increased or would increase their frequency of visits to HK with the IVS with multiple entry endorsements.
Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau continued to be the busiest boundary control points, though their shares in overall passenger trips decreased from 56% to 43% and 30% to 22% respectively between the 2006 survey and 2009 survey. Their decrease in shares suggests that with the opening of Shenzhen Bay Port and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line in mid-2007, there was a positive diverging effect which helped to ease the congestion of busy control points and meet the new demand for cross-boundary passenger travel.
The 2009 survey found that there were 708,800 frequent cross-boundary travellers who usually travelled at least once a week between the Mainland and Hong Kong, representing an increase of 7% when compared with the 2007 survey. Their most common trip purposes were for leisure (49%) and business (22%).
The number of cross-boundary students has also surged in recent years. According to the results of the 2009 survey, there were 8,060 students crossing the boundary via various control points and Chung Ying Street to attend schools in Hong Kong, representing an increase of 28% compared with the figure of 6,280 in the 2007 survey.
The latest survey revealed a drop of 3% in total cross-boundary vehicle trips as compared with the figures in the 2007 survey. Trips by goods vehicles (including container trucks) dropped by 15% between the 2007 survey and 2009 survey, while the number of private car trips surged by 18%, reaching 16,700 vehicle trips a day on average. The drop in the goods vehicle trips seems to be related to the reduced overseas exports from the Pearl River Delta (PRD) Region after the economic downturn in 2008. The movement of cross-boundary goods vehicles is sensitive to economic conditions. With domestic exports and re-exports improving, the number of cross-boundary goods vehicles (including container trucks) saw a rebound by 13% in the first seven months of this year compared with the same period in 2009.
The series of Cross-boundary Travel Surveys was first launched by the Planning Department in 1999, and subsequent surveys were conducted in 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2009. During the 10-year period between the first survey in 1999 and the last survey in 2009, the average daily number of passenger trips between the Mainland and Hong Kong almost doubled from 284,600 to 546,800, while that of vehicle trips increased by almost half from 30,000 to 43,500. This reflects the closer social ties and broadening economic interaction between the Mainland and Hong Kong during the decade.
The Cross-boundary Travel Survey 2009 was carried out at 11 immigration control points from November 3 to 16 last year. A total of 55,300 passengers and 15,800 drivers were interviewed during the two-week survey period to provide information about their cross-boundary trips and their socio-economic characteristics.
A publication entitled "Northbound Southbound 2009" presenting the key findings of the 2009 survey as well as results of previous surveys can be downloaded from the Planning Department website (www.pland.gov.hk). The print version of the publication is also available for public inspection at the Planning Enquiry Counter, Planning Department, 17th Floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point.
Ends/Monday, September 20, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:51
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