The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today announced arrangements for the expansion of the “Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles” scheme to cover all nine Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area.

The scheme has been operating smoothly since being launched late last year. Initially it covered four Mainland cities, namely Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Jiangmen.

As at the end of last month, around 8,400 applications had been approved for entry into Hong Kong, with around 6,700 travel bookings being made. During the Mainland’s Labour Day Golden Week, in early May, bookings were oversubscribed by two to three times.

As for the “Park & Fly” service, which allows travellers to park at the Hong Kong Port part of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), over 8,600 user registration applications had been received, with more than 4,000 bookings being made.

In view of factors such as port operations, overall road traffic conditions, user feedback and public adaptation, the Guangdong and Hong Kong governments have agreed to gradually expand the Southbound Travel Scheme to all of Guangdong Province.

As a first step, the scheme will be expanded to all nine Mainland cities in the bay area in the middle of this year. This involves adding Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing to the scheme.

Guangdong and Hong Kong will allow Guangdong vehicles from the five new cities to use the “Park & Fly” service at the port carpark from June 15.

From July 25, Guangdong vehicles from the five cities will also be allowed to enter Hong Kong via the HZMB.

On the same day, the travel booking quota for vehicles entering Hong Kong will be increased from 100 to 200 per day. The “Park & Visit” service will also be launched at the Hong Kong Port carpark for Guangdong vehicles from all nine cities. Each vehicle will be able to remain in Hong Kong for up to three days.

Guangdong and Hong Kong will continue to monitor arrangements and aim to expand the scheme to all 21 cities in Guangdong by the first quarter of next year.

Secretary for Transport & Logistics Mable Chan thanked the central government and the Guangdong Provincial Government for their staunch support in taking the scheme forward.

“The Southbound Travel Scheme has been implemented in a prudent and orderly manner, and has achieved readiness for further gradual expansion.”

She added that the Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to take the scheme forward to help drive economic growth for Hong Kong and to promote the integrated development of Guangdong and Hong Kong.