Govt Urged To Relax Covid Rules For Tour Groups

The government was on Thursday urged to relax infection-control measures for tour groups so they can visit restaurants, theme parks, museums and other places once they arrive.

The call was made by tourism sector lawmaker Perry Yiu, who said the amber health code – which bans inbound travellers from visiting premises that actively check the vaccine pass for three days upon their arrival – is hindering the recovery of the sector.

He said incoming tour groups should be allowed to have meals at specific places so they don’t mix with other customers at restaurants, and be exempted from the amber code so that they can visit theme parks or museums as long as they’re accompanied by a tour guide.

“The government has to explore more room for the business as soon as possible, and send a message that Hong Kong is gradually reopening when it comes to tourism,” he told a Commercial Radio programme.

Yiu made the comment a day after the oldest tourist agent in Hong Kong, Hong Thai Travel Services, announced it is suspending all branch services until further notice to cut costs.

The tourism sector legislator said the mainland's quarantine rules is also affecting the recovery of the sector.

“As long as the border is not reopened with the mainland, even if we resume [quarantine-free] travel with the rest of the world, the impact on the recovery of our sector is not as big as expected.”

Speaking on the same programme, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung, stressed the government had rolled out a number of measures to help the tourism sector, which he said has been suffering from a “long winter” since the 2019 social unrest.