THE Chinese mainland cities of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province and Qingdao in Shandong Province have been added to a travel scheme that allows residents to visit Hong Kong in a personal capacity, rather than in a tour group.

The “Individual Travel Scheme” began in 2003 as part of a cooperation agreement between the mainland and Hong Kong. It was initially launched in four cities in Guangdong Province before branching out to a total of 49 mainland cities in 2007.

Xi’an and Qingdao will be added to the list by March 6, meaning that residents of 51 mainland cities will be eligible to apply for individual travel, according to a statement from the State Council on Friday.

According to the National Immigration Administration, under the scheme, eligible people from Xi’an and Qingdao can apply for individual visit endorsements for Hong Kong and Macao for leisure purposes on an individual basis. Holders of these endorsements will be permitted to stay in the two cities for a maximum of seven days per visit.

Officials have touted Hong Kong’s attractiveness as an international hub and are planning to hold large scale events including Art Basel in the coming months to lure visitors.

Hong Kong Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said the new travel scheme would be a positive boost.

“Xi’an and Qingdao each have a population of over 10 million. We believe it can bring more high value added overnight visitors to Hong Kong,” he said in a statement.

More than 1.4 million tourists visited Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year holiday which began Feb. 10, with 87% coming from the mainland.

An average of 157,000 mainland visitors arrived in Hong Kong daily, exceeding a level hit in 2018 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

(SD-Agencies)