From July 1, 2024, the duty-free allowance for residents entering from Hong Kong and Macau has been raised from 5,000 yuan to 12,000 yuan, according to a joint announcement by the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs, and the State Administration of Taxation.

Additionally, the policy allowing the purchase of an extra 3,000 yuan worth of duty-free goods at port duty-free shops remains in place, bringing the total allowance to 15,000 yuan. This new policy is initially implemented at six ports: Luohu, Futian, Shenzhen Bay, West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, Gongbei, and Zhuhai Highway Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

On July 1, the Luohu Border Control Station inspected 224,000 inbound and outbound travelers, with 69,000 inbound and 155,000 outbound travelers.

Since the beginning of this year, several policies have been implemented to enhance connectivity between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macau. These include the opening of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Corridor, the operation of overnight high-speed sleeper trains between Beijing and Hong Kong, and Shanghai and Hong Kong, the increase in the number of mainland cities offering "individual visits" to Hong Kong and Macau to 59, and the full restoration of "nationwide processing" for mainland residents' group tour visas to Hong Kong and Macau.

More and more mainland travelers are choosing Hong Kong and Macau as outbound travel destinations, and Hong Kong and Macau residents are also eager to travel, visit relatives, and shop in the mainland. Many international visitors enter the mainland through Hong Kong and Macau and then travel to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and other cities for a more diverse travel experience.

With the summer holiday approaching, outbound travel is expected to peak. The Hong Kong SAR government estimates that under the new arrangements, the city could see an additional HKD 8.8 billion to HKD 17.6 billion in annual shopping expenditures, contributing HKD 2.7 billion to HKD 5.4 billion in economic value.

"The policy of increasing the duty-free allowance for inbound travelers is a positive initiative with a clear goal: to encourage mainland residents to shop and spend in Hong Kong and Macau, thereby promoting the integrated development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," said Song Changyao, Director of the Department of Tourism Management at Beijing International Studies University.

Benefiting from the continued release of policy dividends, industry insiders expect that tourism to Hong Kong and Macau will further rebound in the short term. Chen Ruidong, Managing Director of China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited, stated that to attract more visitors to Hong Kong and Macau, it is not enough to rely solely on price reductions and promotions. All sectors need to explore unique consumption highlights, create branded tourism projects, improve related facilities, and comprehensively enhance service quality to build overall competitiveness.