'Longer border checkpoint hours could prevent chaos'
The tourism and hotel sectors on Tuesday welcomed the government's plan to extend opening hours at two border checkpoints - Lo Wu and Shenzhen Bay - during the Lunar New Year holiday. The executive director of the Travel Industry Council, Fanny Yeung, said the new arrangements would prevent a repeat of the travel chaos that followed the New Year's Eve fireworks display, when many visitors struggled to return to the mainland after the event.  "I think we learn from the New Year's Day... First of all, on the image of Hong Kong, it is not that good, and then secondly, this is not a good experience for our tourists, right? So, I think the new arrangement, it will definitely enhance the kind of experience, because I don't think the same scene will occur again,” she said.   Chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Group, Allan Zeman, said he hoped the new arrangement would boost business during the upcoming holidays.  "Obviously, anything will be better than the last fiasco that happened unfortunately when so many people were stuck not being able to get back to China... I'm hoping that the business should be better," he said.  Steve Huen, executive director of travel agency EGL Tours, said tourists would no longer be restricted by the opening hours of border checkpoints.  "They can come to Hong Kong at any time. And if the hotels are fully booked in Hong Kong, they can go back to the mainland. I think it will be helpful to not only travel agencies, but also restaurants, retail, and transportation." Casper Tsui, executive director of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, said he wasn't worried that the new arrangements would lead to fewer mainland visitors staying overnight in Hong Kong, but that the government should step up its efforts to promote the city. "If we want to attract more tourists to stay overnight, another initiative that I think the government can put more emphasis on is the promotion to overseas cities or mainland cities where they are further away," he said. "These are the tourists that would probably come to Hong Kong, and probably spend a few nights here."