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More than one-third of frequent travellers crossed the boundary for leisure purpose, according to the results of a survey announced by the Planning Department today (October 5).
The Cross-boundary Travel Survey 2006, conducted between November and December last year revealed that 6.3 million, or a daily average of 448 100, cross-boundary passenger trips were made during the two-week survey period, an increase of 17% over that in the 2003 Survey.
Trips by people living in Hong Kong still had the largest share, constituting 73% of all cross-boundary trips. Of these trips, 46% were leisure trips, followed by business trips (23%) and trips to visit relatives and friends (18%). Shenzhen remained the most common trip destination, accounting for two-thirds of the trips.
About 15% of the cross-boundary passenger trips were made by visitors from the Mainland. Compared with the 2003 survey, the number of trips by these visitors increased by two-thirds, reaching on average 65,200 a day. Almost half of the trips by visitors from the Mainland were under the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS). IVS visitors had a higher proportion of leisure trips compared with non-IVS visitors, but a smaller proportion of business trips.
The number of frequent travellers, who usually travelled at least once a week between the Mainland and Hong Kong, increased from 599,500 in the 2003 Survey to 669,500 in the 2006 Survey. The most common trip purposes of these travellers were leisure (37%) and business (31%).
The survey findings also indicated that the number of vehicle trips by all kinds of passenger cars increased by 43% between the 2003 and 2006 surveys. In particular, private car trips had a noticeable increase of 54%. In contrast, container truck trips showed a decline of 12% and that of other goods vehicle remained almost the same.
The survey was carried out at nine immigration control points from November 20 to December 3 last year. A total of 46,000 passengers and 13,600 drivers were successfully interviewed during the two-week survey period. Information was taken from the respondents about the trips they made and their usual cross-boundary travelling patterns. Data on their socio-economic characteristics, including age, sex, usual places of residence and occupations, were also collected.
It was the fourth of the series of Cross-boundary Travel Surveys launched by the Planning Department. Previous surveys were conducted in 1999, 2001 and 2003 respectively.
The survey results will be carefully analysed for updating the input to government planning activities relating to cross-boundary travel.
A publication entitled "Northbound Southbound 2006" presenting the key findings of the survey can be downloaded free of charge on the website of the Planning Department website (www.pland.gov.hk).
Print version of this 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/Friday, October 5, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:00
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