Hong Kong is ready to receive more mainland travelers in the coming holidays, said the Immigration Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government Friday.

With the expectation of more mainland travelers to come as the mainland extended the Individual Visit Scheme to six more Guangdong cities from Jan. 1, the department has deployed 90 staff at the counters of different border checkpoints, the department told Xinhua.

It has introduced "Expeditious Immigration Clearance System" to some busy checkpoints such as Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and China Ferry Terminals to enhance the efficiency of immigration clearance by 10 percent.

According to the department, there are 33,895 mainland visitors arriving daily in the passing 14 days (from Dec. 19, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2004), more that 30 percent over the same period the previous year.

The total number of mainland visitors during the first 11 months in 2003 was increased by 20 percent, from a daily average of 18,570 in 2002 to 22,156.

(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2004)