Stacy Shi
Qingdao residents’ interest in visiting Hong Kong has grown, with flight search volume doubling since the individual visit scheme was extended to the northeastern mainland city, according to Mayor Zhao Haozhi.
The expansion implemented on Wednesday also triggered a substantial increase in individual travel approval applications, with many people inquiring at immigration counters about the arrangement, Zhao said.
“The expansion of the individual visit scheme could strengthen cooperation between Qingdao and Hong Kong’s coastal tourism industry, especially cruise tourism,” he said.
The chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Pang Yiu-kai, and the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, will attend the briefings for tourism representatives in Xi’an and Qingdao, set for tomorrow and Wednesday, respectively.
“We aim to promote Hong Kong to the local tourism industry and collaborate with travel agencies to introduce citizens to the many enjoyable activities in the city,” said Pang.
He said he did not expect tourists from Qingdao and Xi’an to immediately flock to Hong Kong, as people usually need to plan their itinerary and apply for a license from their companies, but the response so far so far it has been positive.
Pang added that the board will also invite key opinion leaders to share their travel experiences, as well as move to enhance flight capacity.
“Some tourists from Qingdao have come and traveled to the city. I believe they will post photos of their travels on Xiaohongshu and other social networks, which will attract more tourists,” Pang said.
Among the first group of individual tourists from Qingdao to arrive on Wednesday was food blogger Bai Susu, who has about 200,000 followers on mainland social media and posted his first Hong Kong video featuring a burger joint in Central.
Some netizens in Shandong province have commented that they are following in his footsteps.
Bai also tried dim sum, rode the Star Ferry and visited many places, including Golden Bauhinia Square and Tai Hang Fire Dragon Heritage Center, accompanied by representatives of the Hong Kong Qingdao Association.
Pang said the monthly fireworks and drone show – floated in the budget last month – will be organized together with mega events to attract tourists, instead of only being organized on a fixed date every month.
stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com
