Han Ximin, Zhang Danyu

1824395095@qq.com

FERRY operator Shenzhen Oceanus Group will open one more service from Shekou Cruise Homeport to Hong Kong International Airport starting September to meet the surging demand of mainland students studying overseas.

The move will increase the number of ferry services from Shekou to the Hong Kong airport to seven a day.

Since July, the operator has already gradually increased ferry services running from Shekou to the Hong Kong airport to meet the increasing demand.

“So far in August, over 13,000 passengers have used ferry services going to the Hong Kong airport, and ticket bookings have already sold out in advance,” Lai Huangxuan, an official from Shekou Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection Station, said at an interview yesterday.

To relieve the surge of travelers, the inspection station added service counters and opened special passages for students going to school overseas.

“It took me half an hour to get to Hong Kong from Shekou before I flew to Singapore, then Australia. Every leg of my journey went well,” Chen Jing, an overseas student in Australia, said at an interview. Chen, who lives in Guangzhou, got out seven hours earlier for her Hong Kong trip to ensure everything went smoothly.

In another development, Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint has also witnessed the surge of outbound travelers, with most of them being Hong Kong-bound students.

In a notice Monday, Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint reminded travelers that its daily service hours range between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Those entering Hong Kong under the Return2HK travel scheme for Hong Kong residents and the Come2HK scheme for non-Hong Kong residents will be exempted from compulsory quarantine when they come from Guangdong and Macao. However, they are required to provide green health codes, valid nucleic acid test reports and reservation certificates.

Other Hong Kong-bound travelers who do not fall under the two schemes must undergo a seven-day quarantine — with the first four days in a quarantine hotel and three days at home.

From Friday to yesterday, around 17,000 made reservations under the Return2HK and Come2HK schemes, data showed.

The surge of the outbound travelers started in mid-August, according to the Shenzhen Bay Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection Station, which handles an average of about 4,000 travelers a day, up by 52.42% compared with last month.

To meet the surge of outbound overseas students, Zheng Zenghao, an officer from Shenzhen Bay Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection Station, said the station has opened six to eight lanes, and more lanes will be considered depending on the situation.

The travel peak is expected to last until the end of August, the period ahead of the new semester at most Hong Kong universities.