Hong Kong Surprised That Tourists & Business Travelers Not Flocking Into The City

Hong Kong leaders appear baffled why tourists and business travelers have not been willing to enter the city due to the current requirements of three nights of hotel quarantine followed by four days of medical surveillance without access to many facilities such as restaurants and fitness centers.

There have been indications coming out from Hong Kong that the city may soon change its entry requirements and remove the current mandatory hotel quarantine of three nights, but it is unclear whether the medical surveillance and self-monitoring periods with extensive testing are going to stay.

Vaccine Pass

There is a vaccine pass requirement to enter most facilities, and it requires 3 doses from November 30, 2022.

Foreigners can apply for the vaccine pass online.

But the problem is that you must wait for the Vaccine Pass to turn to Blue before you can enter most premises in the city, such as restaurants and bars. However, you can enter shopping centers, use public transportation, and walk outside.

Hong Kong Leaders Surprised per SCMP:

Hong Kong’s finance chief has admitted the current Covid-19 quarantine arrangement may discourage tourists and business travellers from coming to the city and vowed the government will roll out “bold” measures soon to reverse a “worrying” loss of talent.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po made the pledge on Monday at an event organised by the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, attended by other business lobbies, diplomats and representatives from the money management industry.

Pointing to the current “3+4” arrangement requiring three days of hotel quarantine and four more under home medical surveillance, Chan said the approach “might be acceptable to the locals, but we know it might not be good enough in terms of attracting tourists and international business travellers”.

Conclusion

The leaders of Hong Kong were detached from reality if they thought that leisure and most business visitors were willing to accept the current entry requirements when most countries have removed them all.

I am afraid Hong Kong will continue the medical surveillance period even after removing the quarantine requirement. This is not enough.

Visitors and business travelers won’t enter before all these hurdles are removed, including daily tests.

What is the purpose of going to Hong Kong if you can merely sit in your hotel room and order in-room dining but cannot use most of its facilities?

I am sure most locals who travel outside of Hong Kong accept many limitations when returning, but they are not palatable to visitors.

Hong Kong simply isn’t competitive until all these burdens to enter the city has been removed.

Many ex-pats have already given up and relocated elsewhere. Businesses have moved operations to other cities in Asia due to the city’s inability to respond reasonably to Covid-19.