ENG-1970 — Page 193

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Immigration and Tourism

IMMIGRATION

RECORDED movements of travellers in 1970 totalled 6,790,459, an increase of 21.21 per cent over 1969. Arrivals numbered 2,908,603, and departures 2,881,856. The six-month long Expo '70 in Osaka stimulated much of this extra growth, although the upward trend continued throughout the year. Traffic by steamer and hydrofoil to Macau returned to pre-1967 levels, and in fact more passengers passed through the Macau terminal than through Kai Tak Airport. Movements to China across the land frontier increased, but the traffic remained below the pre-Cultural Revolution level.

At Kai Tak Airport, the completion of improvements in the passenger terminal, and particularly the separation of arriving and departing passengers onto different levels, allowed the immigration clearance of passengers to proceed with greater efficiency and in greater comfort, and the arrival of the first Boeing 747 'Jumbo Jet' in April caused no immigration clearance problems. In the harbour, in order to reduce costly delays to in-bound shipping, a scheme which began in April allows selected cargo ships to dock without waiting for immigration clearance, provided crew lists are submitted in advance of the ship's arrival. The scheme is intended to reduce to a minimum costly delays to in-bound shipping.

Policy governing the entry of persons for employment or residence is liberal but selective, and admits those with special skills not readily available in Hong Kong, those likely to make a substantial contribution to the economy, those with close family ties in Hong Kong, and other cases where there are compelling humanitarian reasons. Nevertheless, Hong Kong continues to attract illegal im- migrants, not only from China and Macau, but also from elsewhere, particularly overseas Chinese from the unsettled areas of South East Asia.