Expo Trade Calls For Roadmap On Easing Curbs

Some convention and exhibition sector representatives on Friday called on the government to provide a clear roadmap on the lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions.

They said their trade has been hit hard by the pandemic, pointing out that six exhibitions have been moved from Hong Kong to Singapore, Thailand and the UAE, some permanently, over the easing of travel restrictions in other countries.

The vice chairman of the Exhibition and Convention Industry Association, Peter Cheung, said more organisers may follow suit if Hong Kong maintains its current quarantine arrangements.

"I fully understand the current Hong Kong situation, I'm not asking for free quarantine at this moment," he said at an online press conference organised by the DAB and attended by two dozen trade representatives.

"I do want to have a very clear roadmap, on what conditions [we] can reach free quarantine, and the timeline."

Cheung noted that exhibitions require some nine months of planning, hence the need for a roadmap and timeline to normalcy.

DAB lawmaker Holden Chow said the government should begin lifting the restrictions by first cutting the current seven-day hotel quarantine for arrivals to five days, plus two days of home quarantine.

"For the best part of three years, the exhibition and convention industry has suffered a lot," he said. "We really need to catch up, otherwise the business will be gone to other jurisdictions like Singapore, Thailand and Japan."

Fellow councillor Kennedy Wong, who represents the import and export sector, added that some small and medium enterprises in the trade have told him that if their woes continue, they may have to fold by the end of the year.