Starting today, mainland residents who visit the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SARs) will be able to cross all entry checkpoints, except the Hengqin port, with up to 15,000 yuan (US$2,076) worth of duty-free goods, Shenzhen Customs said Tuesday.
The maximum duty-free goods that adult visitors are allowed to carry when entering from Hong Kong and Macao were raised to 12,000 yuan from 5,000 yuan starting July 1, 2024, according to a joint announcement published by China's finance, customs, and taxation departments June 28.
Adding purchases at duty-free shops, the cap would reach 15,000 yuan, the notice said.
The new limit initially covered six border crossings, including the Luohu, Futian, and Shenzhen Bay checkpoints, as well as the Gongbei Port, the Zhuhai exit of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, and the West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.
The new policy will now apply to all other checkpoints between the mainland and the two SARs starting today.
However, the rise in duty-free limits is not applicable to people who travel to and from Hong Kong and Macao multiple times in a short period of time, the customs said.
Additionally, in accordance with applicable regulations, passengers are currently excluded from receiving tax-free concessions on cigarettes and alcohol.
In response to the increase of duty-free limits, both the Hong Kong and Macao SAR governments issued statements June 28 welcoming the new measures. These developments are expected to provide mainland visitors with more shopping choices that cater to their needs and enrich their travel experiences in the two cities.
Approximately 21 million people visited Hong Kong in the first half of 2024, a 64% year-on-year increase, with a daily average of 116,000 visitors, according to provisional figures released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board on July 16.
Of those, about 16.15 million visitors arrived from the mainland, approximately 60% more than in the first half of 2023.
Macao welcomed over 16 million visitors in the first half of 2024, preliminary data from the Macao Government Tourism Office showed.
The figure, which is equivalent to roughly 92,000 visitor arrivals per day, represented a year-on-year increase of 43.6% and a recovery of around 82.5% when compared to the pre-pandemic figure of 20.28 million in 2019.