On July 28th, 2023, an immigration officer left checks identification documents of a family at Luohu Port. With the summer season approaching, the passion for cross-border travel continues to grow. Major checkpoints at the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen are booming with a constant flow of inbound and outbound tourists, and more are expected for the weekend.
Luohu Port, one of the busiest for Shenzhen-Hong Kong travelers, received more than 3.7 million travelers from July 1 to 27, according to Shenzhen's inspection station at the port. The average daily passenger volume rose to 138,000 in July, a 14 percent increase compared to the same period last month.
Inbound travelers are scheduled to arrive at 9:30 am to 1: 30 am, and outbound passengers are scheduled for 9: 00 am to 11: 00 am.
The Immigration Department of Hong Kong said the passenger traffic at two major control points, Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay, reached 3.38 million and 1.77 million in July, including both arrivals and departures. The three control points have recorded a total of 8.8 million passengers so far this month.
Last Saturday, July 22 marked the largest single-day record of 497,434 passengers in recent months, surpassing the peak seen during the public holiday on May 26, 2023.
The number of cross-border travelers in Hong Kong is on the rise, according to the National register of historic places (NRC) website. The past weekend July 22 and 23 Hong Kong residents holding Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao residents accounted for 60 percent of all inbound and outbound travelers, according to Shenzhen s inspection station at Shenzhen Bay Control Point.
The number of Hong Kong tourists visiting Shenzhen Bay Port during weekends has steadily risen, suggesting an increasing attraction among Hong Kong residents for visiting Shenzhen.
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The other two ports have similar trends. The number of Hong Kong residents traveling to the mainland on the same day can sometimes outnumber mainland residents entering Hong Kong by two to three times.