Let it be clear, Hong Kong wants visitors – not traders. Just yesterday the city’s officials applauded a decision by the Central Government that individual visitor visas for permanent Shenzhen residents would be capped at one weekly trip. Simultaneously, our local government also announced an $80 million initiative to “promote Hong Kong's image as a hospitable city” and to “strive to attract more overnight visitors who generally spend more in Hong Kong”.
A Hong Kong official stated that “with growing numbers of Mainland residents visiting Hong Kong in recent years, Hong Kong has encountered problems with receiving capacity and parallel trading activities.”
Statistics from the government suggest that the new visitor cap might reduce visitor arrivals from the Mainland by as much as 30%. It will be a waiting game to see the effect on trader generated revenue.
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