For over three years, restricted borders have separated families and disrupted tourism and other companies.
After nearly three years, China will reopen its crossings with Hong Kong and Macau without COVID-19 testing or daily quotas.
On Friday, the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said that all restrictions would be lifted at midnight on February 6, allowing group tours to resume.
After Beijing abandoned the zero-COVID strategy, Hong Kong-mainland travel resumed in January.
On Friday, Hong Kong leader John Lee called partial reopening “orderly, safe and smooth”.
Hong Kong’s administration followed Beijing’s pandemic policy with enforced quarantine of up to three weeks for newcomers and intense testing and screening for three years.
In mid-2022, Lee declared that the area will no longer require COVID-19 vaccinations for visitors.
After China’s announcement, Qunar searches for round-trip Hong Kong-mainland air tickets jumped sevenfold on Friday, according to official media China Transportation News.
In 2018, 51 million mainlanders visited Hong Kong, approximately seven times its population.
Local officials hope an influx of visitors would revive the once-thriving tourism and retail industries after the pandemic restrictions cost the territory $27bn.
A day after Lee announced more than half a million free flights and “no isolation, no quarantine and no limitations” to attract foreign tourists, the borders were fully opened.
Lee has stated he may end outdoor masks in Hong Kong once flu cases decrease.
