Checkpoints in Hong Kong are expected to handle an estimated 11.52 million cross-border trips during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays, the Immigration Department has said, as residents and visitors alike embark on festive journeys.

The majority of the traffic — approximately 9.65 million passenger trips — is projected to transit through land border checkpoints, with key arteries, including the Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line/Futian, and Shenzhen Bay control points, expected to see the heaviest footfall, according to government projections.

Daily passenger flows during the holiday windows — Wednesday to Sunday for Christmas and Dec 31 through Jan 4 for New Year — are forecast to average 225,000, 201,000, and 161,000 at each of the three aforementioned points, respectively.

Travelers are advised to plan ahead, schedule journeys outside of peak periods, and follow real-time traffic conditions at control points via media and the “Easy Boundary” webpage, an official one-stop information platform on immigration clearance.

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In response to the expected holiday travel rush, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will deploy more frontline officers, open additional clearance counters, and establish a joint command center at the Lo Wu border crossing for coordinated operations between the Immigration Department, Police Force, Customs and Excise Department, and the city’s rail operator, MTR Corporation.

Approximately 700 e-Channels will also be operational to speed up clearance processing across all ports. The self-service kiosks, which run on facial recognition technology, will be able to serve both eligible Hong Kong residents and Chinese mainland visitors.