Cross-border high-speed rail passenger numbers have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, reaching more than 17 million this year, according to Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation.
Railway operators announced Thursday that passenger numbers during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays reached a record high.
“During the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays…the number of passengers exceeded 100,000, a record high,” the operator said.
MTR said the route between the city and the neighboring mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen had the “most significant growth” of any high-speed line.
Since March, tourists from the mainland have accounted for more than half of high-speed rail passengers, and since July they have exceeded 2019 levels.
The rail giant said annual weekend passenger numbers reached 17 million, surpassing the overall number in 2019 before the pandemic hit.
Tommy Tam Kwong Shun, managing director of Arrow Travel Agency and member of the Tourism Industry Bureau, said the train became popular because it took less time and cost less than flying.
“Airports tend to be punctual and you only need to arrive 15 to 30 minutes early, unlike airports where you have to arrive three hours early,” he said.
He added that the station’s proximity to urban areas is also a big advantage, as it increases flexibility for travelers.
![Financial Secretary Paul Chan has said airport passenger numbers are expected to rise at the end of 2023. Photo: Dickson Lee](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/11/23/3d3628aa-5bb7-49ad-b63b-085d29418707_081bddf3.jpg)
Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Station currently connects Hong Kong to 73 destinations on the mainland, but the operator has vowed to open more lines and stations in the future. Routes serving Guangzhou East, Chengdu East and Zhanjiang West were added earlier this year.
According to statistics from the Immigration Bureau, nearly 500,000 people from the mainland visited the city from September 29 to October 2 this year, accounting for 87% of the total number of arrivals during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day long holidays. corresponds to On October 1, the number of visitors crossing the border reached 177,770.
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Fanny Yong Shukfan, executive director of the Travel Industry Council, said new transportation options such as high-speed rail links and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge have not only made cross-border travel more convenient, but also made it easier to said to mean. Visitors will not stay overnight.
“I can understand why people, especially those in the Greater Bay Area, don’t stay overnight because the transportation is so convenient,” she said. “I think this is quite normal.”
According to the Tourism Bureau, 23 million people visited the city in the first nine months of this year, while on the same day there were about 11.4 million tourists, 85.4% of whom were from the mainland.
Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mopo said at a briefing earlier this week that he expected passenger traffic at Hong Kong International Airport to return to about 80% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, with a full recovery next year. Ta. Year.