Hong Kong is preparing for its busiest Lunar New Year since the pandemic, with the Immigration Department projecting 11.38 million passenger movements between 14 and 23 February—a 16 % jump on 2025. The forecast, released on 12 February after an interdepartmental planning meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Eric Chan, covers air, land and sea checkpoints.
Land routes will shoulder the bulk of the traffic: 9.52 million crossings are expected through Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Shenzhen Bay. Daily volumes could exceed 660,000 on peak return day 22 February. Control-point operating hours will remain unchanged, but additional counters and temporary channels are being opened, and leave for frontline officers has been curtailed.
Businesses that routinely rotate staff into Shenzhen and Dongguan factories have been told to schedule departures on 16 or 17 February to avoid the outbound peak on Lunar New Year’s Eve. Retailers in Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay are bracing for a visitor surge, with the Hong Kong Retail Management Association predicting holiday sales could exceed HK $5.7 billion.
![Immigration Forecasts 11.38 Million Trips Over Lunar New Year, Advises Off-Peak Travel]()
For anyone needing visas or travel documents sorted before crossing the border, VisaHQ provides fast online processing and real-time guidance specific to Hong Kong travel requirements. Their platform (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) can help ensure documents are in order well ahead of the Lunar New Year rush, saving valuable time at checkpoints.
Security Bureau officials urged travellers to consult the Easy Boundary mobile site for real-time wait times and to verify the validity of Home Return Permits. Tour operators are staggering coach departures, while some multinational firms are offering remote-work options on 22–23 February to mitigate the risk of staff being stuck in Shenzhen queues.
The upbeat forecast underscores Hong Kong’s recovery but also highlights bottlenecks at legacy control points. The government plans to accelerate e-channel upgrades after preliminary tests of contactless gates later this year.
Land routes will shoulder the bulk of the traffic: 9.52 million crossings are expected through Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Shenzhen Bay. Daily volumes could exceed 660,000 on peak return day 22 February. Control-point operating hours will remain unchanged, but additional counters and temporary channels are being opened, and leave for frontline officers has been curtailed.
Businesses that routinely rotate staff into Shenzhen and Dongguan factories have been told to schedule departures on 16 or 17 February to avoid the outbound peak on Lunar New Year’s Eve. Retailers in Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay are bracing for a visitor surge, with the Hong Kong Retail Management Association predicting holiday sales could exceed HK $5.7 billion.
For anyone needing visas or travel documents sorted before crossing the border, VisaHQ provides fast online processing and real-time guidance specific to Hong Kong travel requirements. Their platform (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) can help ensure documents are in order well ahead of the Lunar New Year rush, saving valuable time at checkpoints.
Security Bureau officials urged travellers to consult the Easy Boundary mobile site for real-time wait times and to verify the validity of Home Return Permits. Tour operators are staggering coach departures, while some multinational firms are offering remote-work options on 22–23 February to mitigate the risk of staff being stuck in Shenzhen queues.
The upbeat forecast underscores Hong Kong’s recovery but also highlights bottlenecks at legacy control points. The government plans to accelerate e-channel upgrades after preliminary tests of contactless gates later this year.
