CHINA. In important news for travel retail, the Chinese government is planning to adjust the limit on duty-free shopping allowance for Mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong, according to a well-sourced South China Morning Post (SCMP) report.
This is a response to the proposals from Hong Kong’s representatives attending the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s largest annual political gathering in Beijing.
Referring to a Tuesday closed-door meeting with Hong Kong’s NPC delegates, a source told SCMP that Beijing authorities are “actively considering” increasing the duty-free allowance, as hinted by the attendance of several senior officials from Chinese Customs in a meeting with the delegation. The source added, “it’s just a matter of time”.
The proposals were raised following last month’s announcement by the Chinese government to expand the individual visit scheme by including residents from the cities of X’ian and Qingdao.
In a meeting with Hong Kong NPC delegates, Executive Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), Zhou Ji, reportedly pointed out the recently updated solo traveller scheme. Zhou was quoted as saying that this will be “followed by a series of preferential policies in supporting Hong Kong”.
According to The Post, the proposal to increase the duty-free shopping quota for Mainland visitors “has been gaining steam” and was among the key concerns of Hong Kong representatives to the NPC. The allowance for tourists is currently capped at CNY5,000 and officials are suggesting to raise it to CNY30,000 per person for each trip.
Citing sources familiar with the situation, SCMP added that the Mainland side “well noticed” the difference between the duty-free shopping limit in Hong Kong and the booming travel retail hub of Hainan province.
After gradual increases of CNY5,000 since 2011, the allowance has now reached CNY100,000 (US$13,900) per year.
As reported, Hainan province’s 12 offshore duty free shops posted a +22.9% year-on-year rise in sales (duty free and duty paid) to CNY3.161 billion (US$442.54 million) during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday (10-18 February).
The Hainan Department of Commerce statistics show that travel retail sales accounted for about 21% of Hainan’s total tourism revenue during the Chinese New Year period. ✈
