​Following the first Inter-departmental meeting held on March 26 to co-ordinate the preparation work for the arrival of visitors to Hong Kong during the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau convened another meeting today (April 16) to follow up on the preparation work carried out by various departments, including crowd control management, a Government spokesman said. The meeting was chaired by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, with representatives from government departments including the Hong Kong Customs (Customs), the Hong Kong Police Force (Police), the Immigration Department (ImmD), the Transport Department, various District Offices, etc. Representatives from various tourism-related organisations including the Travel Industry Authority (TIA), the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, major tourist attractions, hotel industry, etc. also attended. Relevant parties will continue to maintain close communication on the crowd control during the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland and co-ordinate different aspects for receiving visitor arrivals to Hong Kong.
Mr Yeung said, "The Government will closely monitor the situation of visitor arrivals during the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland. Various government departments, relevant organisations and the trade will strengthen co-ordination and communication as well as enhance crowd management work with a view to creating a good travel experience for visitors and demonstrating the city's unique tourism appeals."
During the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland, relevant government departments will strengthen the manpower as well as co-ordination of transport and cross-boundary services at various control points, including strengthening crowd management, increasing transport frequency, etc. If necessary, the Police will make appropriate traffic arrangements according to the actual circumstances, including arranging public transport to use the designated dedicated lane at San Sham Road to travel to Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port. In addition, the Inter-departmental Joint Command Centre set up by Customs, the Police, the ImmD and other departments will be activated during the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland to monitor the situation at each land control point, as well as to maintain close liaison with Mainland counterparts and take contingency actions where necessary. The Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre of the Transport Department will operate 24 hours to monitor the traffic conditions of different districts, including various boundary control points and major stations, disseminate the latest traffic information through various channels and implement response measures where appropriate.
Various District Offices will closely monitor the flow of visitors within their corresponding districts during the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland and strengthen management of the relevant spots having regard to the actual circumstances. Major tourist attractions will also put in place crowd control measures.
TIA has been reminding travel agents receiving relevant Mainland inbound tour groups to stagger arrival times as far as possible and urge travel agents, shops, restaurants, etc., receiving Mainland inbound tour groups to implement appropriate measures for managing the order of visitors and coaches. TIA will also deploy additional manpower during the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland to conduct inspection in districts where relatively more registered shops for inbound tour groups are located, and offer assistance to visitors and tourist guides to protect the rights of inbound tour group visitors. In addition, Customs will step up inspection of shops serving visitors so as to combat unfair trade practices.
The Tourism Commission has been maintaining liaison with Mainland tourism authorities and communicating with them on the arrival of Mainland visitors. It has provided the hotlines of the relevant local organisations to Mainland inbound group visitors via the Mainland tourism authorities.
At present, the ImmD will upload the daily arrival figures of each control point to its website (www.immd.gov.hk). In addition, visitors may check the estimated waiting time at each land boundary control point via the Immigration Mobile Application.
During the Labour Day Golden Week of the Mainland, in case of emergency, Mainland inbound tour group visitors, tour escorts accompanying the tour groups and local tourist guides may seek assistance from TIA by calling its service hotline 3698 5900 (operating from 9am to 6pm from May 1 to 5). For enquiries or complaints, visitors may call the HKTB's hotline 2508 1234 (operating from 9am to 8pm from May 1 to 5) or the Consumer Council's hotline 2929 2222 (operating from 9am to 5.30pm from May 2 to 3).
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