Passengers depart for Hong Kong at the Lo Wu Control Point in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, Feb 6, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrate Region is laying on a special welcome – including setting up coordination center at Lo Wu, one of the city’s busiest land crossings – to enhance cross-boundary services, public transportation, crowd control and law enforcement during the upcoming National Day Golden Week, in a bid to further improve tourists’ experience.

On Wednesday, the city’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau met with government departments, tourism organizations and representatives from the hotel industry to coordinate and review the preparation work for hosting visitors who will come to Hong Kong during National Day Golden Week.

Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the government will closely monitor visitor arrivals during Golden Week, which overlaps with the Mid-Autumn Festival. He noted that popular major events during the holidays include the National Day Fireworks Display, Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance and the Urban Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival.

During Golden Week, the HKSAR government will also deploy more manpower and enhance coordination of transport and cross-boundary services at land crossings

Yeung said the government and the tourism industry will enhance crowd control to ensure visitors having a good experience in Hong Kong.

During Golden Week, the government will also deploy more manpower and enhance coordination of transport and cross-boundary services at land crossings. An inter-departmental joint command center, set up by the Customs, the Police Force, the Immigration Department and other government departments, will be established to monitor the situation at each land control point and take contingency actions if demands arise, as well as to maintain close liaison with the authorities of the Chinese mainland to smooth cross-boundary travels.

ALSO READ: Forum: Innotech gives tourism business a shot in the arm

In a separate event, Director of Immigration Benson Kwok Joon-fung said the inter-departmental command center will be set up at the Lo Wu Control Point. He also said that since the full resumption of cross-boundary travel between Hong Kong and mainland in early February, more than 120 million passengers passed through Hong Kong’s control points as of August. Nearly 44 million passenger trips were recorded during the summer vacation, meaning a daily average of about 700,000 passenger trips.

Other measures include enhancing crowd management in popular attractions, increasing coach parking for group visitors and increase the frequency of public transportation

At present, the Immigration Department will upload the daily arrival figures of each control point to its website. Visitors can check the estimated waiting time at each land crossings via the Immigration Mobile Application.

Other measures include enhancing crowd management in popular attractions, increasing coach parking for group visitors and increase the frequency of public transportation.

READ MORE: HK records over 20 million visitor arrivals in first 8 months

In case of any emergency during the National Day Golden Week, mainland inbound tour group visitors, tour escorts accompanying tour groups and local tourist guides can seek assistance from the Travel Industry Authority by calling its service hotline 3698 5900. For enquiries or complaints, visitors may call the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s hotline 2508 1234 or the Consumer Council's hotline 2929 2222.