The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today expressed its sincere gratitude to the central government as it welcomed the expansion of the Individual Visit Scheme to cover eight more cities.

The new cities are Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, Hohhot in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Harbin in Heilongjiang Province, Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Lanzhou in Gansu Province, Xining in Qinghai Province, Yinchuan in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Urumqi in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Chief Executive John Lee expressed his gratitude with regard to the central government's care for Hong Kong and its support in Hong Kong's advancement from stability to prosperity.

He said that subsequent to various measures that have been rolled out this year to support and benefit Hong Kong, the central government had responded positively to the Hong Kong SAR Government's proposal to extend the scheme, which now covers 59 cities in total, including all provincial capital cities.

Mr Lee added that the measure will not only boost tourism and the economic development of Hong Kong in general, but will also facilitate people-to-people bonds between the Mainland and Hong Kong.

He highlighted that the eight cities added to the scheme are all provincial capital cities with large populations, significant economic growth and high spending power. He said their inclusion in the scheme will boost the tourism, retail, catering, hotel and other related sectors, bringing huge economic benefits while promoting two-way visits between Hong Kong and different provincial capitals.

Mr Lee added that he looks forward to seeing closer communication between people in Hong Kong and those in the eight cities.

Meanwhile, Secretary for Culture, Sports & Tourism Kevin Yeung said various government departments will step up co-ordination and maintain liaison with other relevant organisations and the travel trade to establish and enhance the capacity of direct flights between Hong Kong and the eight cities. They will also ensure the smooth operation of boundary control points, tourist and accommodation facilities, and public transportation networks, in order to welcome visitors.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board will immediately step up promotion work in each city and invite tourism representatives to come to Hong Kong to participate in promotion activities.

Mr Yeung said that the recovery of Hong Kong's tourism industry had been strong over the past year. However, he added that in view of visitors' changing travel patterns, the travel trade and relevant sectors in the Hong Kong SAR must adapt, making use of Hong Kong's characteristics to provide visitors with more novel and diversified travel experiences, as well as high quality service.

He added that the Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to work with various sectors of the community to promote the city's hospitality, including through developing novel travel itineraries and products.