The number of people travelling at least once a week between Hong Kong and the Mainland rose to 669,500 last year, up 11.67% on 2003, a survey has found. Most were travelling for leisure (37%) and business (31%).

The Cross-Boundary Travel Survey 2006, released today, found that trips by people living in Hong Kong still had the largest share, constituting 73% of all cross-boundary trips.

Of these trips, 46% were for leisure, followed by business (23%) and trips to visit relatives or friends (18%). Shenzhen remained the most common destination accounting for two-thirds of the trips.

15% Mainland visitors

About 15% of the cross-boundary trips were made by Mainlanders. Compared with the 2003 survey, the number of trips by these visitors grew two-thirds, reaching on average 65,200 a day.

Almost half of the trips by Mainlanders were under the Individual Visit Scheme. These visitors had a higher proportion of leisure trips compared with non-scheme visitors, but a smaller proportion of business trips.

The survey also found the number of vehicle trips by all kinds of passenger cars grew 43%. Car trips rose 54%, but container truck trips fell 12%.

The survey was conducted at nine immigration control points from November 20 to December 3 last year. A total of 46,000 passengers and 13,600 drivers were interviewed during the two-week survey period.

Northbound Southbound 2006, which presents the key findings of the survey, can be downloaded free on the Planning Department's website.