The Director of Immigration, Benson Kwok, on Sunday said that as of Saturday, 980,000 mainland visitors had entered Hong Kong during the Golden Week holiday, which was about 35 percent more than the same period last year.

Speaking on a radio programme, Kwok said more than 221,000 mainland visitors entered Hong Kong on October 1, when the holiday began.

"The operation at the border control points remained smooth despite receiving a large amount of mainland visitors. It was busier at Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay Port. The immigration department has been making use of technology, which included the e-channels. The e-channels played a great part in speeding up passenger flow. The department has installed a total of 765 e-channels at all ports," Kwok said.

He said as of Sunday, the highest passenger traffic recorded this year was on August 25, when more than 1.21 million people used the immigration ports.

Kwok predicted that total annual passenger traffic would resume to pre-Covid levels at 300 million by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, Kwok said as of September, the department had denied around 23,000 people from entering Hong Kong this year, accounting for 0.07 percent of all visitors.

He said 85 percent of those being denied entry were due to them having a doubtful purpose to visit the city.

The department implemented its Advance Passenger Information System in September, requiring airlines to submit the personal data of travellers to the department to conduct risk assessment.

Kwok said the department would then inform the airline about whether the passengers were allowed to enter the city.

Hong Kong residents are not included in the system.

He said such systems have been running in other countries and regions such as Australia, and airlines were willing to cooperate.

“The measure can block those who are unwelcome from boarding the plane, which helps protect national security and maintain Hong Kong’s law and order,” Kwok said.

But he also said that such persons can apply for a visa to enter the city, and the department could permit them to enter after assessing their applications.