Milestone for 'individual visit' scheme

The individual visit scheme, introduced just 10 months ago, today (May 31) attracted its two millionth visitor to Hong Kong.

Since the scheme was launched in July 2003, residents of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong Province have been allowed to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis. The scheme will be extended to nine cities in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Fujian provinces from July 1.

"The rapid increase in the number of people arriving in this category shows the scheme is being warmly received," said the Immigration Department's Divisional Commander of the Harbour Division, Mr Chan Man-lang.

He presented the two millionth individual visitor to Hong Kong from the Mainland, Ms Mai Jiemi, with a certificate and a souvenir when she arrived at the China Ferry Terminal.

Mr Chan said that over the Labour Day holiday, from April 29 to May 9, Hong Kong welcomed some 156,000 individual visitors, an average of about 14,000 a day.

On May 1, a daily record of 34,000 individual visitors arrived. 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, when over 355,000 individual visitors arrived in Hong Kong.

Ends/Monday, May 31, 2004