July 28 marked the 20th anniversary of the Chinese mainland opening channels for individual tourists to travel to the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.
According to data from Ctrip, as of July 26, the number of trips booked from the mainland to Hong Kong during the summer vacation increased by more than 13 times year-on-year. Since the beginning of this year, high-speed rail journeys from Guangdong to Hong Kong have also increased by more than 13 times compared with the same period in 2019.
In contrast with 20 years ago, it has become much easier for Hong Kong and Macao residents to travel to the mainland as well. Travelers from Hong Kong made more than 4.08 million trips to the mainland in June alone.
The increased travel has boosted the integrated development of Shenzhen and Hong Kong as well as the vitality of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In the first five months of this year, the value of Shenzhen-Hong Kong trade reached 225.81 billion yuan ($31.58 billion), up 5.6% year-on-year.