(5,4,3,2,1!HappyNewYear!)

ThousandsofpeoplegatheredalongHongKong’sTsimShaTsuiharbourfronttothenewyearcountdownonDecember31,2022.Althoughtheannualfireworksdisplayhasnotreturnedfora4thyearinarowthisyear,thecityislessdisappointedbecauseit’snowbusypreppingforthe“bigday”thisSunday—aquarantine-freebordertravelwiththemainland,whichhavebeenhaltedforthepastthreeyearsduetoCovidrestrictions.

Some300immigrationofficerslaunchedatrialrunattheHongKongMacauFerryTerminalandLokMaChauSpurLineinpreparationfortheborderreopeningonThursday.Cross-boundarybusesareundergoingmechanicalchecksafterthreeyearsofbeingidle,andtrainstaffhavebeensummonedtore-familiarizethemselveswiththeirwork.

Thecityhasrecentlydroppedmostofitspandemicmeasures,includingmandatorytestingforinboundtravelers,theneedtoshowavaccinepasstoentersomevenuesandrestrictionsonthesizeofpublicgathering.

Andfinally,HongKongunveiledamuchanticipatedplanonThursdaytograduallyreopenitsborderwiththemainland,mappingitsexitfromthreeyearsoftoughrestrictionsthathavedealtasevereblowtothecity’stourismandbusinesses.

Nowthe“bigday”ofbordertravelhasofficiallycomedowntothelast48hours.Let’sbreakdownthefirstphasetravelarrangements.

Tobegin,thegovernmentwillallow50,000HongKongtravelers–residentsandthosewithoverseaspassports–tocrossintothemainlandeverydaythroughlandcrossings.

Atotalofsevencheckpointswillbeoperatingduringthefirstphase.TheyincludethreelandbordersatLokMaChauspurline,ShenzhenBayandManKamTo,whichwillbesubjecttoadailyquotaof35,000,10,000and5,000respectivelyeachway.

Theadministrationestimatedaseparate10,000peoplewouldheadnortheverydayusingbridge,ferryorairroutes.

Another60,000willbepermittedtotravelfromthemainlandtoHongKong,meaningthetotaldailytrafficcouldreach120,000.

Butthesequotasdonotapplytotravelerssimplymakingthereturnjourney,soifyouareaHongKongresidentreturningfromthemainland,youwillnottakeupaspotfromthemainlandquota,andviceversa.

Andthehigh-speedrailthatrunsfromWestKowloonStationtothemainlandwillnotbeupandrunninguntilJanuary15attheearliest,whenthesecondphaseisexpectedtobegin.

BoththeHongKongandShenzhengovernmentswilleachlaunchanonlinebookingsystemonThursdayandFriday,respectively.Hongkongersheadingnorthwillneedtoregisterwiththelocalgovernmentonafirst-come,first-servedbasis,whilemainlandersheadingtothecityarerequiredtosecureaslotviatheShenzhensystem.

Fortravelersfrombothsides,theywillhavetoobtainanegativeCovidtestresultwithin48hoursbeforedepartureandregisteritonline.Theon-sitePCRtestsarenolongerneeded.

AndmainlandauthoritiessaidThursdaytheyarereadytoaccepttravelandbusinessvisasformainlanderstovisitHongKong,withimmigrationofficesinShenzhenbustlingagain.

AsHongKongmovesclosertoreopeningtheborderwiththemainland,excitementandhopesarealltooobviousforresidentsonbothsidesoftheborder.

Nowthatthetimetablefortheeasingofbordercontrolhasconfirmed,itisexpectedtobeasmallpeakoftraveltoHongKongfromthemainlandduringtheSpringFestivalholidaysgivencurrentsearchesforflightticketsandhotelsinHongKong.

SearchesfortraveltoHongKongsurged379percentimmediatelyfollowingtheannouncement,whilesearchesforairticketsbetweenthemainlandandHongKongincreased287percent.SearchesforHongKonghotelsrose163percent,datafromonlinetravelagencyLY.comshowed,asHongKongandMacauareamongthemostpopulartraveldestinationsformainlandresidents.

DatafromindustryinformationproviderVa