AN increasing number of Hong Kong people were seen visiting Shenzhen’s shopping malls, commercial streets and night markets in recent months, thanks to the resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the mainland. The surge in visitors has significantly bolstered cross-border consumption, according to a report in Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.

Last Saturday, Galeries Lafayette officially opened a new store at UpperHills, a shopping mall in Futian District, attracting not only Shenzhen residents but also a considerable number of Hong Kong visitors.

UpperHills has emerged as a popular destination for Hong Kong consumers due to its diverse range of shopping options, high-quality experiences and convenient transportation.

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel at UpperHills has also witnessed a notable increase in the proportion of Hong Kong guests this year, accounting for 10% of the hotel’s visitors. The month of June recorded the highest influx of Hong Kong guests this year, according to the report.

An owner of a Cantonese restaurant in a shopping mall in Luohu District surnamed Luo said that an increasing number of Hong Kong residents have patronized their restaurant this year.

Since the resumption of cross-border travel in January, millions of people have been traveling between cities in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area on a daily basis, and residents’ consumption has recovered to 140% of the amount recorded in the same period in 2019, according to the Daily report.

AlipayHK statistics indicate that the amount and number of transactions made by Hong Kong residents on the mainland during the second quarter of this year surged more than threefold compared to the first quarter, while travel and consumption data show a consistent upward trend over the past six months.

Since the start of this year, Shenzhen has implemented various initiatives to boost consumption vitality between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. As early as February, Luohu launched a shopping festival, offering digital RMB red envelopes totaling 10 million yuan (US$1.38 million) for Hong Kong visitors as well as families and relatives living separately in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

In addition to convenient transportation, diverse options and favorable pricing have also played a crucial role in attracting more and more Hong Kong tourists to Shenzhen for consumption, the Daily report said.

Liu Xuefei with the China Development Institute said that “the series of policies and measures introduced by the Shenzhen government to stimulate consumption, along with the relatively lower prices compared to Hong Kong, have enticed Hong Kong consumers to choose Shenzhen as their shopping destination.” (Liang Dazhi, Wang Jingli)