'Travel Bubble May Evoke Cautious Response First'

An executive of a travel agency said on Thursday that though Hong Kong people would like to go on holidays, he expected many of them to adopt a wait and see approach at the beginning when travel restrictions are relaxed.

The CEO of Worldwide Package Travel, Yuen Chun-ning, was talking in an RTHK programme on the government’s plan to set up travel bubbles with different places as the Covid-19 situation improves.

The government has said it is in discussions with 11 countries about this, including Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Germany and France.

Yuen said Japan and Thailand are popular destinations for Hong Kong people, but a lack of flights may make the trips more expensive.

The travel expert also said changes in the tour operation could be needed due to the pandemic situation, like reducing the number of people in groups, seating arrangements in coaches and restrictions during meals.

He said it would be easier for health authorities to do contact tracing if holidaymakers travel in tour groups.

The travel agencies could let authorities know about relevant flight and hotel information, as well as the itineraries of tour groups so contact tracing would be easier compared to that of individual travellers, said Yuen.