More than three million people will pass through the city’s borders during this year’s Tuen Ng Festival holiday, according to the Immigration Department.
In a statement, authorities said that major tourist attractions will be implementing special crowd management plans to accommodate the surge in visitors from May 31 to June 2.
The Immigration Department projects a peak in outbound traffic on May 31 with approximately 570,000 departures, while inbound travel is forecast to peak on June 1 with 540,000 arrivals.
It added that roughly 380,000 visitors from the mainland are expected to come to Hong Kong during the holiday. The daily average visitor arrival is expected to increase by 16 percent year-on-year.
The Travel Industry Authority and the trade estimated that around 340 mainland tour groups will visit Hong Kong, a 30 percent jump from last year.
In all, about 3.2 million passengers – both locals and visitors – are expected to enter or depart the SAR during the three-day period, with 2.73 million passing through the land border crossings.
June 2 is a public holiday on the mainland, but not in Hong Kong.
To manage the influx, a cross-departmental command centre led by police, immigration, customs and other agencies will monitor border checkpoints in real time and deploy additional staff as needed.
The Transport Department has coordinated enhanced transit services, including increased shuttle bus frequencies at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and expanded quotas for cross-boundary coaches.
The MTR will also bolster East Rail Line trains between Admiralty and Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau stations.
Additionally, telecom providers and the MTR have upgraded network and Wi-Fi capacities at high-traffic points to ensure connectivity during peak periods.
Chief Secretary Eric Chan on Monday chaired a meeting of the interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements to coordinate preparations for welcoming visitors to Hong Kong during the long weekend.