The Post examines the scheme’s evolution and assesses whether its strong economic impact will be repeated.
1. How did the Individual Visit Scheme come about?
During the three-month outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) from March to June in 2003, Hong Kong’s economic growth was “abruptly derailed”, according to a government report for that year.
Inbound tourism and its related sectors were “badly shattered”, and in July, authorities introduced the Individual Visit Scheme, initially targeting residents of four cities in Guangdong province.
The scheme quickly expanded to include major cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai.
Prior to Friday’s announcement, the list of 49 mainland cities was last updated in 2007.
Free ice cream,…
Free ice cream,…
