'Lifting Of Flight Ban A Great Step Forward'

The Tourism Board on Monday said it is putting together a work plan in preparation for the reopening of Hong Kong’s borders, saying the scheduled lifting next month of the flight ban on nine countries is a great step forward for the tourism industry.

The board's executive director, Dane Cheng, told an online media briefing that the board is mapping out strategies for the eventual resumption of quarantine-free travel.

“The announcement at the moment for lifting the flight ban for the countries…this is a very good step forward. In due course, I hope, once the [situation] of Covid has been brought under control, then we could slowly reopen to more visitors,” he said.

“[For] the shortening of quarantine requirements, this is a good thing for us. In our work plan for this year, we have already built that in. It’s a matter of when and how we want to do it.”

The Tourism Board, which has received HK$600 million from the financial secretary for a three-year plan to develop and launch tourism products with cultural and heritage elements, said it will roll out a two-phase tourism project in the Greater Bay Area to attract mainland visitors.

It also plans large-scale events in Hong Kong to create a positive ambience in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the SAR, Cheng said.

He also promised to provide more support for the cruise industry which has been badly hit by the pandemic.

“One of the things that has been made very clear is that they [cruise ship companies] would like to see more relaxation of the anti-pandemic measures. We will also be looking at other things that could incentivise the cruise lines to restart their businesses.”

However, Cheng said the board’s local tours and staycation programmes originally scheduled earlier this year will be postponed until the current wave of infections is under control.

Meanwhile, a representative of the travel sector, Fanny Yeung, says the government has to release more information about the flight ban before they can make an estimate on how business will be affected.

She told RTHK that airlines cannot reschedule their flights before the government announces more details, and therefore agents are still finding it hard to book seats.

Yeung said travellers who have already made a booking for their 14-day stay at quarantine hotels also don’t know whether they should cancel it and make a shorter booking since it’s unclear who is really eligible for the shorter quarantine announced by Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Monday.

“The reservation right now is still very confusing,” she said.