(Yicai) Aug. 6 -- Shenzhen, which is China’s land port with the biggest passenger flow, has just logged its busiest summer ever, with the number of people entering and leaving the city reaching an all-time high over the weekend. Most of these people were tourists from Hong Kong.

The number of travelers passing through Shenzhen’s land ports reached 882,800 people on Aug. 4, setting a new high, and breaking the record set the previous day at 877,700 people, according to the latest data from Shenzhen Ports.

Although Shenzhen logged robust economic growth in the first six months, consumption is still the weaker of the three drivers of economic growth, behind investment and exports.

Therefore Hong Kongers heading to the mainland on a spending spree spells a golden opportunity for the hi-tech hub and the local government has rolled out a number of measures to help businesses make the most of it.

For example, Shenzhen launched several promotional campaigns during the summer travel peak. Different types of businesses carried out over 600 themed promotional activities from June to August, boosting the city’s food and beverage, retail and tourism sectors.

There has been a rapid increase in the number of travelers between Shenzhen and Hong Kong since Jan. 8, 2023 when the land ports started to be reopened in phases after the lifting of Covid-19 control measures.

Last year, 154 million people passed through the Shenzhen-Hong Kong land ports, of which 71 percent were Hong Kong residents, 28 percent were from the mainland and the remaining 1 percent were from other places, according to data released by Shenzhen Ports. Some 784,200 people entered or exited the ports on the last day of 2023, the highest number that year.

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, which is a bridge-tunnel route connecting Shenzhen on one side of the Pearl River and Zhongshan on the other, was opened at the end of June, encouraging more Hong Kongers to travel north. Many Hong Kong and Macao residents have taken advantage of the new convenient connection to visit relatives or travel in the mainland over the summer.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor