Hong Kong’s Leader Says Current Quota for Mainland Travel Is Ample

Travelers cross into the Chinese mainland from Hong Kong at the Shenzhen Bay Port on Sunday, the first day the border reopened. Photo: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Hong Kong’s quota allocated for Chinese mainland travel is enough for current demand, the city’s leader said, in a signal the cap won’t be immediately lifted.

Up to 50,000 people are allowed to travel daily into the mainland via land checkpoints, which opened for the first time in three years on Sunday.

Some 90% of the quota has been taken up on Jan. 20 in the run up to the Lunar New Year holidays, while 17% has been reserved for the coming eight weeks overall, Chief Executive John Lee said at a press conference Tuesday. The government will look in the next few days as to whether there is room to adjust the limit, he said.