'Cross-border Travel Bubble Expected This Month'

The tourism sector says it is hopeful that a "travel bubble" to allow healthy people to pass between Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong without the need for quarantine will get underway in the next few weeks.

After a meeting with Commerce Secretary Edward Yau on Tuesday, sector representatives said the move will depend on when a health code system for travellers is finalised.

Macau and Zhuhai are already allowing people to pass from one side of the border to the other using a QR code system that shows a person's level of risk for the coronavirus based on the people they've been in contact with and their travel history.

It's thought Hong Kong will adopt something similar to allow those deemed to be low risk to skip quarantine requirements.

After the meeting with Yau, Jason Wong from the Travel Industry Council said he is hopeful that tourism will soon be able to resume as the Covid-19 situation eases.

"From the coding system and immigration, they are all ready to reopen very soon," he said.

"The feedback is very positive and the trade is looking forward to the border reopening and the travel bubble being established very soon."

Wong added that once people are able to travel across the border and to Macau easier, the next step would be to add other countries to the "bubble", such as Thailand.