Hong Kong seeks travel bubbles, but will Macau and Guangdong agree?

Hong Kong’s tourism industry is desperately urging the government to set-up “travel bubbles” with neighbouring regions as a lifeline, warning the hard-hit sector will need an extended period to recover from the near-total shutdown brought on by the pandemic.

The creation of travel corridors between countries, which jointly agree to drop quarantine requirements, is something the Hong Kong government has suggested could take place with destinations that have done well in containing Covid-19.

But it’s not clear when such a bubble might be formed between Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland’s Guangdong province, South China Morning Post reported.

A travel group, comprising 14 tourism sector representatives, has been pushing the governments of both Hong Kong and Macau to expedite the resumption of travel between the two cities since the end of April, tourism lawmaker Yiu Si-wing has said.

“At the very least, we hope travel between Hong Kong and Macau can resume within this month or next,” he told reporters.

Further flung countries under consideration include Thailand, Japan and South Korea, he said, without offering a timeline for when the necessary agreements might be completed, South China Morning Post reported.

Jason Wong Chun-tat, chairman of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, said he believed the government was working to find ways to resume travel, but that plans had been delayed by the recent cluster of infections at the Lek Yuen public housing estate in Sha Tin.

“Tour companies will struggle to survive if the government keeps the borders closed. Even giving a date when people can start to travel would ease the worries of tour companies, as they can at least make plans to promote tours to Macau or even Guangdong,” said Perry Yiu, convenor of the Hong Kong Travel Agents’ Relief Alliance.

According to the South China Morning Post, in the first four months of this year, tourist arrivals plummeted 85.3% to 3.49 million year on year. Hong Kong is part of a wider global lockdown, with at least 65 worldwide airlines slashing flights by about 95% in April and May.

The city also suffered 8.9% contraction in gross domestic product during the first quarter as it reels from the combined impact of the US-China trade war, last year’s anti-government protests and the coronavirus pandemic.