The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will launch a free admission scheme for three consecutive months for holiday camps from 1 July to 30 September 2008. Under the Scheme, all camp places which are not reserved by groups during the above period will be open for free public use. The holiday camps and facilities concerned are:

Campers should pay the meal charges upon check-in and approach the contractors of the camp restaurants for details of the meal charges. Campers of Chong Hing Water Sports Centre may either order lunch boxes through the centre before check-in or bring their own food.

As meals will be arranged according to the number of campers stated in the booking forms, applicants should inform the contractors of the respective camp restaurants in writing of any changes in the number of campers or any special meal requirement one week before the camping period and confirm such arrangements by phone.

Under the prevailing policy, individuals can submit their bookings three months in advance. Unfilled camp places after the ballot can be booked by individuals at any Leisure Link Booking Outlets at our leisure venues and LCSD District Leisure Services Offices without quota on a first-come-first-served basis. Applicants should complete the booking procedures and settle the camp fees on-the-spot. Individuals can submit their bookings of the day camp and tent camp places in Chong Hing Water Sports Centre three months in advance. Unfilled camp places after the ballot can be booked by individuals without quota on specified dates through telephone to Chong Hing Water Sports Centre on a first-come-first-served basis. Applicants should complete the booking procedures and settle the camp fees subsequently.

Under the free admission scheme from July to September, the LCSD will continue its prevailing policy of reserving half of the total camp places for free bookings by individual. For Chong Hing Water Sports Centre, half and one-third of the total camp places will be reserved for free bookings by individuals during the peak period and the non-peak period respectively.

Unfilled camp places in the holiday camps and Chong Hing Water Sports Centre after the ballot can be booked by submitting completed booking forms to the respective holiday camps/ Chong Hing Water Sports Centre by fax or by post. If the applications exceed the remaining camp places, camp places will be allocated by ballot on the fifth working day of the following month. For example, camp places for July will be allocated by ballot on 7 May and those camp places unfilled will be allocated by ballot again on 6 June.

Unsuccessful applicants who want to book other camp places in our holiday camps or Chong Hing Water Sports Centre should make a fresh application by submitting completed booking forms to the respective holiday camp/centre by fax or by post. The details of booking for free camp places are as follows:

The LCSD will reserve half of the total camp places for free bookings by individuals. For Chong Hing Water Sports Centre, half and one-third of the total camp places will be reserved for free bookings by individuals during the peak period and the non-peak period respectively.

Bookings from individuals for use of the above facilities in July should be submitted by March 31, 2008. Applicants should submit the completed booking forms to the respective holiday camps/ Chong Hing Water Sports Centre by fax or by post. If the applications exceed the quota, allocation of places will be determined by ballot. Confirmation letters will be sent to successful applicants and lists of the successful applicants will be announced in the webpage of the respective holiday camps and Chong Hing Water Sports Centre.

Each applicant may only reserve one session of the facilities at any one holiday camp or the Chong Hing Water Sports Centre’s campsite each day. One session refers to one day for day and evening camps of holiday camps, and two days and one night for residential camp of holiday camps and tent camp of Chong Hing Water Sports Centre.

Quota for booking:

1. Day, evening and tent camps: maximum of six camp places in a session per booking.
2. Residential camp: maximum of one unit in a session per booking. A dormitory or bungalow which can accommodate 3 to 8 persons or 10 persons is counted as one unit. Applicants should reserve their camp places in accordance with the actual number of users.

After the second round of ballot for unfilled camp places, it will take several working days for the respective holiday camps/Chong Hing Water Sports Centre to allocate camp places, issue confirmation letters to successful applicants, announce the lists of successful applicants and update the number of unfilled camp places on the respective webpages. It is only after that, the unfilled camp places can be open for booking by phone.

Campers must observe the following rules:

1. The applicant must be one of the campers of the booked facility;
2. Only designated activities are allowed in the camp;
3. Before using the facility, the applicant must produce his/her identification document and the confirmation letter to the venue staff for verification; and
4. For better use of resources, the LCSD reserves the right to reallocate the booked camp places to other parties if the actual number of campers is smaller than that stated in the booking form.

What are the inclement weather arrangements?

If typhoon signal no. 3 or above, or black rainstorm warning signal is issued at 7am on the camping day, all the day camp bookings will be cancelled. If typhoon signal no. 3 or above, or black rainstorm warning signal is still in force at 12 noon, all the residential camp and evening camp bookings will also be cancelled. When red rainstorm warning signal is issued on the camping day, please contact staff of the camp before setting off for the camps so as to enquire about the camping arrangements. If typhoon signal No. 1 or higher, rainstorm red or black warning is issued at 12 noon, all tent camp activities in Chong Hing Water Sports Centre will be cancelled.

July and August are the summer vacation, i.e. the peak period, the usage rate of various camps, including those under the LCSD, the NGOs and other organisations will be extremely high. Hence, the launch of the free admission scheme will have no impact on the camps managed by other organisations. However, it is expected that in September some small-scaled camps or camps situated in remote locations will be slightly affected.