Macau well prepared to welcome the two cities’ visitors: Ho
The central government has added two more cities, Shaanxi’s provincial capital of Xi’an and Shandong’s port city of Qingdao, to its Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) that issues individual travellers with permits to visit Hong Kong and Macau, which will start on Wednesday next week.
Scheme to cover 51 cities
The National Immigration Administration (NIA) made the announcement in a statement on Friday. The new measure will bring the total number of IVS cities to 51.
Currently, 49 cities in the mainland are covered by the Individual Visit Scheme.
Since the scheme was rolled out in 2003, the number of IVS cities had been gradually increased until 2007 when the scheme then covered 49 cities. Since then, no new cities had been added to the scheme, until Xi’an and Qingdao will be covered by the scheme from Wednesday next week.
The scheme currently covers all 21 cities in the neighbouring province of Guangdong, the four municipalities of Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai and Tianjin, a number of cities in various provinces, and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region’s capital of Nanning.
The full list of the scheme’s current 49 cities in English can be accessed at: https://www.tourism.gov.hk/en/visitor_ind.php
Those from other provinces and autonomous regions not covered by the scheme can only visit Hong Kong and Macau by joining tour groups.
Friday’s NIA statement said that after the State Council decided to add Xi’an and Qingdao to the Individual Visit Scheme for tours to Hong Kong and Macau, the National Immigration Administration is determined to start the issuing of IVS travel permits for residents from the two cities on March 6.
The National Immigration Administration is a sub-ministry level executive agency administrated by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
According to the NIA statement, eligible residents from the two cities can apply for their IVS travel permits at police service centre’s immigration service counters or self-service kiosks.
Holders of IVS travel permits can stay in Hong Kong or Macau for up to seven days per visit.
According to the statement, two types of IVS travel permit to visit Macau will be issued to those from Xi’an and Qingdao, namely one visit during a three-month period, or one visit during a 12-month period.
In addition to the two types, two other kinds of IVS travel permits will be issued to those visiting Hong Kong, namely two visits during a three-month period, or two visits during a 12-month period, according to the statement.
Local govt response
According to a follow-up statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) on Friday, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, on behalf of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) government, expressed his sincere gratitude to the central government for its strong support of Macau’s continuous development.
The statement also said that the MSAR government will continue to work with the city’s tourism sector with the aim of constantly improving Macau’s tourism facilities and products and carrying capacity to receive visitors.
The statement underlined that Macau has now well prepared itself for welcoming IVS visitors from Xi’an and Qingdao.
The statement also said that adding the two cities to the Individual Visit Scheme will not only benefit Macau’s tourism industry but also promote people-to-people exchanges between the mainland and Macau.
According to local media reports, representatives from Macau’s tourism industry have welcomed the central government’s decision to add Xi’an and Qingdao to the Individual Visit Scheme, pointing out that both cities each have a population of at least 10 million.
Xi’an has a population of 13 million, while Qingdao has 10 million inhabitants.
Residents and tourists alike walk in Largo do Senado, the city’s main square, yesterday. – Photo: Tony Wong
