Briton who heads Hong Kong hotel chain lauds new travel permit for foreigners

A Briton who heads a Hong Kong hotel chain has called for the expansion of a new permit scheme that eases foreigners’ travel to mainland China and allows them to use self-service clearance machines at control points.

Simon Manning, managing director of Nina Hospitality, which operates hotels and residences at eight locations in the city, used the self-service e-channel at the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint for the first time on Tuesday, crossing the border smoothly.

He was among the first batch of applicants for the new five-year multi-entry travel permits to mainland China announced on July 1, and had activated his permit at Lo Wu port by having his fingerprints scanned.

Manning, a member of the British Chamber of Commerce, recalled that even with an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Card, which allowed him to travel to the mainland without a visa, he had previously always kept local colleagues waiting at the border because he still had to go through the manual counter, while they could use the self-service machines.

“Now I don’t hold anybody up,” said Manning in an interview arranged by local authorities. “It makes it very easy now to access the mainland.”