Hong Kong expands southbound driving scheme to 9 GBA cities, plans all 21 Guangdong cities by 2027

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mable Chan, announced on Saturday that the Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme will expand from four to nine Greater Bay Area cities starting July 25, 2026. The daily quota for urban trips will double from 100 to 200, as 15,000 applicants have already registered for July — roughly three times the current daily limit. About 60% of applicants come from newly added cities like Shenzhen, Foshan, and Dongguan, signaling strong demand. The scheme allows mainland motorists to drive into Hong Kong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, using park-and-fly facilities for flights, passenger drop-offs, or applying to enter urban areas.

Chan emphasized that data collection is ongoing to prepare for further expansion, with a target to extend the scheme to all 21 cities in Guangdong province by the first quarter of 2027. The newly eligible cities are Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing, joining the existing participants Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, and Zhongshan. The move is part of broader efforts to boost cross-border tourism and economic integration within the Greater Bay Area, though concerns remain about road congestion and infrastructure capacity in Hong Kong’s urban centers.