“You have to test whether the fundamental facilities, for example the border crossings, accommodation and consumption, can cope. This will just take some time.”
The proposal to raise the duty-free allowance – from 5,000 yuan (US$694) to 30,000 yuan per person for each trip – for mainland tourists has been gaining steam, becoming a focus for Hong Kong delegates attending the key political meetings in the capital, known as the “two sessions”, or lianghui.
Sources familiar with the matter said the mainland side “well noticed” the gap between the duty-free limit enforced in Hong Kong and the island province of Hainan, which is also popular with mainland travellers. After gradual increases of 5,000 yuan since 2011, the allowance now stands at 100,000 yuan per year.
On Wednesday, Hainan authorities announced that over the Lunar New Year period, the island province recorded duty-free sales of 7.4 billion yuan (US$945.8 million), generated by shoppers’ 938,000 trips.
Hong…
Hong…
