I think the problem was that HKG required 2-3 stamps, and the motion of picking one up, stamping, putting it down, and repeating ate into efficiency. I think there was a mention of the actual costs of the stampers themselves. Logically, it made perfect sense and the article was convincing.

But we're not Vulcans. And I want my stamp.

But not at HKG.

(Or SGN/HAN/DAD.)

Or Macau! I know people who used to rack up half a dozen stamps in a day going from Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macau

I got stamped at HAN a few months ago, but they stamped my VN visa insert instead of my passport. For those of us that like to conserve passport pages, VN issues detached visas for no additional fee as long as you give the issuing people an extra picture.

Charge 5 euros for each stamp and profit! :) Collect stamps from all 28 EU countries and you get a thank you card autographed by Vladimir Putin.

I sort of enjoy flipping through my passport looking at old stamps.

I don't enjoy when the border agent at exit flips through for 30 seconds (this happened to me at FCO the other day) trying to find the entry stamp for whatever reason. (In this case, there was none, as the agent upon entry in FCO could only be bothered to look up from his smart phone long enough to glance briefly at my passport then hand it back to me.)

I also don't enjoy having to go through the hassle of getting extra pages added, which would disappear for the most part if stamps went away (of course it's still possible for the passport to be filled with visa stickers).

Still, Americans are lucky -- some (most?) countries won't add pages, so one has to get a whole new passport, making it a significant cost of effort, time, and money. (I pity those, like a friend of mine, who have to replace their Syrian passports nowadays.)

When I was adding new pages to my US passport in HK earlier this year, I caught a glance at the price sheet:

-page inserts (up to two sets) = $82
-new passport = $75

I would have gone with the latter (can also be 48 pages), but I didn't fancy the idea of toting around 2 passports (current passport has PRC visa with 1.5 years remaining validity and HK eChannel).

I have to say I'd like to see a lot fewer countries stamping and more going to the paper receipt like HK. I do enjoy looking through my old ones especially the oddballs like Seychelles but I'd love to actually have a passport last 10 years. Sure I can get pages added but it's not free anymore and nearly as much as a new passport.

I do good to get 5 years out of a "business" size passport now.

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Having both UK and US passports, and not having travelled outside the EU and USA now for some years, I'm sad to report that both my passports have no stamps at all in them...

I am glad I am not the only one that loves passport stamps. After every trip I always flip through the pages, thinking back all the airports I have been to.

So far I have stamps from LHR Terminal 1, 2, 3 and 5. I just need to find a opportunity to fly to T4 to complete LHR grand slam:D. And although I have flown out of LCY a couple of times I have yet to fly into it to get my collection.

It is still possible for people to travel on counterfeit visas issued by countries which track visa issuance and processing by computer. Even counterfeit US visas are used by asylum-seekers.

The inconvenient e-channel lane I was referring to is in Luo Hu (well, at that point, Luo Wu). It's ironic that frequent HK visitors are corralled to an e-channel further away, but standard issue visitors just walk straight from the exit gates of the MTR. Then again, nothing at the Luo Hu border makes sense.

Then, there's the slip of paper. Yes, because adding pages now costs money, I'm not as keen on passport chops (though I have plenty of pages now), but the receipt seems anachronistic. If we simply can scan our bar code and fingerprint to pass through, why not leave it at that? Wouldn't the computer know when we entered?

Of course, hotels and consulates for example want to see your pertinent entry information, but if only there was another way...

The fewer stamps I get, the less often I get bent over and charged an extortionate fee to add pages to my passports.

I guess I'm not very sentimental...

Probably won't happen in my lifetime.... but I sure someone is working on a way to make teleportation possible. instead of 15-hour grueling nonstop flights to Sydney, just beam me from my iPhone 6 Plus directly from my LA home to my Sydney hotel in under 5 seconds. (but what if there are visa or passport issues? will my particles be suspended in the server for ever)