Chief Secretary Eric Chan said the SAR government will try to resume quarantine-free travel with mainland China on January 8 at the earliest.

Writing on social media on Sunday, Chan said they are "racing against time" to make plans for a full resumption of travel in a gradual and orderly manner, adding they are in close liaison with mainland officials to make that happen.

Chan said apart from Shenzhen Bay and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge that are already open, some ports of entry that have been closed for a long time will also resume operations.

The official said a quota on cross-border travellers will be in place initially, and the authorities will gradually beef up transport arrangement to cater to the actual demand.

"Depending on how the initial phase of quarantine-free travel goes, we will scale up the arrangement and ultimately achieve a full border reopening," he wrote.

He said travellers from either side of the border are advised to do a PCR test in advance to reduce risks of infection.

The president of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, Allen Shi, said the business sector was delighted that the border could be reopened as soon as next week, and urged the government to gradually increase the quota for cross-border travellers.

"Many business leaders are glad to hear the good news. It's very encouraging. It seems that the government has set an initial quota of 20,000 for cross-border travellers. I think it's okay to begin with, but it's well down on the 100,000 to 200,000 before the pandemic. Hopefully the quota will increase gradually. I believe the border reopening will boost businesses by 20 to 30 percent," he said.

Separately, the chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Pang Yiu-kai, said it may take one or two years before the number of incoming travellers is back at pre-Covid levels.

He said arrival figures will go up gradually and the sector will have time to step up manpower accordingly.
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Last updated: 2023-01-01 HKT 16:36