Beginning this weekend, the city's doors will be open much wider, allowing for the potential influx of more than 4 million non-permanent residents of Shenzhen to enter Hong Kong with multiple-entry visas. The extended eligibility includes students and the workers.

In addition, non-local residents in Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, Shanghai and Guangzhou may also apply for single-visit permits to Hong Kong without being required to make application from their hometowns. The expanded scheme means an additional 10 million mainland tourists could pour down on the already over-crowded city sooner or later. For the city's businesses, this is no doubt welcome news, as any upsurge in mainland tourists will certainly spur the local economy and bring healthy windfall to the tourism and retail industries.

But there are always two sides to every coin. With Hong Kong still struggling to cope with the existing flood of mainland tourists, this controversial move has no doubt hit a raw nerve among many Hongkongers who are greatly disturbed by what some categorize as an "invasion" of mainland tourists, snatching our resources ranging from housing, public transportation, daily necessities, medicine and cosmetics.

One man's meat is certainly another man's poison. A windfall for local traders may turn into a nightmare for many local people who struggle their whole lives for decent and peaceful lifestyle, living standards and sustainable livelihoods in this city notorious for its lack of space and for its high prices. It is no wonder that a rising number of people, including scholars and green groups, have raised their voices in opposition, even taking to the streets to vent their anxiety and to call for a halt to the expanded visa eligibility.

Indeed, their concerns are legitimate and neither personal nor discriminatory toward mainland visitors. From a practical point of view, the likely fresh influx of visitors would put tremendous strain on the city's overburdened transportation resources and on other resources that provide the necessities for daily living. Even Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying agreed in June that the individual visit scheme should not be expanded further. He admitted that the flood of tourists had aggravated inflation in the city and "disrupted" the quality of life of local residents.

The fundamental problem is that there is a dire lack of tourist, transport and retail facilities, as well as related infrastructure to cater to more tourists. It is well-known that Hong Kong does not have enough hotels to cater to the rising demand. There are frequent reports of mainland tourists forced to sleep in the streets, at McDonald's or to stay in illegally sub-divided flats. According to statistics, from 2001 to 2011, there has been an increase of 42 percent in the number of visitors, but the increase in hotel rooms was only 6 percent. Also, the rise in retail space amounted to only 3 percent from 2006 to 2011 alongside a stunning 85 percent growth in the city's retail sales. It is not surprising that when hundreds of thousands of people live in cubicles or subdivided flats, the government can hardly find land to build hotels and commercial premises.

The city's transportation system is already heavily used and often overcrowded. MTR carriages and the city's streets are always crowded no matter whether during peak or non-peak hours with tourists holding large shopping bags fighting one another for more space. In addition, because of the mainland tourists stockpiling daily goods as well as luxury items, local people blame tourists for driving up rents and property prices and forcing small businesses out of shopping areas, depriving many local people of their livelihood.

True, the scheme has many advantages. As I stated before, it can stimulate the growth of many industries and local employment, as well as promote cultural exchanges between different people. When the local economy was hard hit by the SARS attack, it was the scheme coupled with CEPA that helped Hong Kong ride out the crisis and rebound from its economic crisis. Since Hong Kong is facing a global economic slowdown with a reduced number of overseas tourists, the scheme will certainly help to offset the negative impact.

But there is a limit to everything. After all, Hong Kong is a small but densely-populated city. How can a small city have the capacity to cope with a large number of tourists from the mainland without limits? When the housing supply, transportation system and other resources are lagging behind local demand, shouldn't the government put local resident's interests as its first priority and serve the needs of the people first?

When tourist and related facilities are inadequate to cater to more mainland tourists, shouldn't the government call for a review of the scheme and impose a quota to restrict their visits? The government should conduct a study on the city's capacity to handle tourists in terms of existing facilities and what the city is capable of providing in the future. What we need is long-term planning for the city's infrastructure.

The author is a current affairs commentator.

(HK Edition 08/31/2012 page3)