Hong Kong residents embarked on nearly 400,000 outbound trips on Sunday ahead of the Christmas holiday, an increase of 15 per cent from the same day last year, with short-haul trips to Taiwan, Japan and Thailand remaining popular destinations.
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Meanwhile, the travel industry is gearing up for the coming year by developing packages to new mainland Chinese destinations, with Hong Kong set to launch direct high-speed rail routes to certain locations from January 5.
“High-speed rail trips are gaining popularity. The fixed ticket prices on weekdays and holidays also make it easier for travel agencies to plan their products,” Timothy Chui Ting-pong, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, told a radio show on Monday.
According to figures released by the Immigration Department on Monday, Hong Kong recorded a total of 595,119 outbound trips on the previous day, of which 396,849, or 67 per cent, were Hongkongers. The number of outbound trips by locals was a 15 per cent increase from the 344,836 recorded on December 22 last year.
On Sunday, the city also logged a total of 544,593 inbound passenger trips comprising 369,328 Hong Kong residents and 135,515 mainland ones.
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Starting from January 5 next year, the city’s high-speed rail service will launch a new long-haul route to Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province, and introduce new destinations including Suzhou in Jiangsu province and Meizhou in Guangdong province.