HONG KONG WITHDRAWS MANDATORY QUARANTINE FOR OVERSEAS ARRIVALS FROM 26 SEPTEMBER WITH NEW ‘0+3’ SCHEME

BY  DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY

KOLKATA, 23 SEPTEMBER 2022

Days after Japan and Taiwan announced easing their immigration restrictions ,  Hong Kong too has announced to withdraw the mandatory quarantine for overseas arrivals from next Monday.

Mr. Pang Yui –kai, Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board welcoming the government decision said that the new arrangements mark Hong Kong’s reopening as a tourism gateway with significant international connections. This is  expected initially to attract many business travellers , family visitors and returning Hong Kong residents.

“ In addition, the travellers are no longer required to take a PCR test before boarding  flights to Hong Kong, and upon arrival, they can head directly to their home or choosen hotel to await the test results. The new arrangements will allow greater convenience and flexibility for travellers,”Mr. Pang Yiu  – kai added.

Talking to The Travel and Tourism Times, Mr. Anil Punjabi, Chairman ( East) of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) said that China and Hongkong are almost the last to open up their  borders and  it is great to know the Hong Kong Quarantine is scrapped.

“ Hongkong has a lot of tourists , business and visiting friends and relatives ( VFR) travellers. All were waiting for this great news. Hopefully Cathay Pacific flights in the near future reinstate their flights from Kolkata and moreover we have a lot of passengers to Macau as well.  This will boost our travel industry  tremendously in this sector,” Mr. Anil Punjabi added.

Mr. Manav Soni, Chairman ( east) of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) also welcomed the move and said that it is very good news for the tourism sector that Hong Kong has also eased the rules and in the next few months tourism will peak in that sector also.Hong Kong is a hub for the business community and business community  now can fly to Hong Kong for trade activities with China.

Due to stringent norms for foreigners since the past two years , Cathay Pacific, its flagship carrier, has registered  about a 98 percent  decrease in passenger numbers.  After this announcement already there has been a rise in its share price.

There has been tremendous pressure on the government  to ease the rules as Hong Kong is losing to its competitors in the tourism sector.

Hong Kong’s popular international Rugby Sevens event will take place from November 4 to 6  this year for the first time in more than three years. It was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the covid -19 pandemic outbreak.

“ From 26 September 2022, inbound travellers from overseas places or Taiwan arriving at Hong Kong International Airport will no longer be required to undergo hotel quarantine; instead, the new ‘0+3’ boarding and medical surveillance arrangements will apply, “says Hong Kong Tourism Board.

According to Hong Kong Tourism Board the top 10 tourist attractions in 2022 for visitors are : Hong Kong Disneyland, Water World Ocean Park, Central Market,Peninsula Helicopter Tour, Wan Chai Promenade, Cup Noodles Museum, Legoland Discovery Centre Hong Kong, Monopoly Dreams, Marvel at Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, Picnic in the City.