After Hong Kong's entry quarantine measures were changed to "0+3", the convener of the Executive Council, Ip Lau Shuk-yi, believes that if the epidemic continues to slow down, it is possible to further relax it to "0+0" in October.
Ye Liu mentioned that under the current "0+3" arrangement, the "yellow code" for passengers in the first three days of arrival in Hong Kong restricts the content of activities, including not being able to go out to eat, nor to enter exhibitions, museums, theme parks, etc., which affects the competitiveness of Hong Kong.
But if measures can be relaxed to attract more tourists to Hong Kong, she believes that Hong Kong has the conditions to catch up.
It is undeniable that the government has not stopped the pace of opening up.
The International Financial Leaders Investment Summit in early November has invited a total of 200 financial leaders from more than 100 financial institutions around the world to participate.
In the schedule announced by the HKMA, the first day's itinerary included a visit to the M+ Museum.
Regardless of how the government will arrange for these financial leaders to visit M+ under the "yellow code", this arrangement also shows that Hong Kong's attractiveness to outsiders must include attractions such as M+ and the Palace Museum.
Under the "0+3" arrangement, tourists cannot visit these places for three days after arriving in Po, and the competitiveness is indeed limited.
Chief Executive Li Jiachao decided earlier that the "0+3" arrangement will be implemented quickly this Monday (26th). One advantage is that there are five weeks before November to observe the development of the epidemic.
There is room for the government to open up further by the end of October, without a massive rebound or overwhelming the healthcare system.
The government announced on 9.26 to relax the entry quarantine "0+3", and many citizens at the Wanchai Immigration Department came to apply for SAR passports.
(Photo by Leung Jinying)
More need to attract tourists after lifting quarantine
The cancellation of the quarantine on arrival in Hong Kong also means that no quarantined people will stay in local hotels. In addition, citizens do not need to return to Hong Kong for quarantine when they travel abroad. Naturally, fewer people choose to stay in Hong Kong for "staycation", which will inevitably lead to less business in the local hotel industry.
However, not all hotels are quarantine hotels.
For example, the number of designated hotels for quarantine in the eighth round was 68, and before the announcement of "0+3", 7 of the hotels terminated their contracts with the government as quarantine hotels.
The 61 quarantine hotels provide about 23,000 rooms, accounting for 19% and 26% of the total number of hotels and rooms in Hong Kong, respectively, compared with the data from the Census and Statistics Department in 2021.
Moreover, according to Cui Dingbang, director-general of the Tourism Promotion Association, since the implementation of the "3+4" quarantine measures in mid-August, the occupancy rate has only remained at about 50%, which shows that the impact of fewer quarantined guests on the hotel industry is partial. of.
As for how many Hong Kong people will reduce their "staycation" after the quarantine on arrival is cancelled, there is currently no data for reference.
But at the same time, after Hong Kong resumes international exchanges, it is reasonable to expect that there will be more business customers, which will help balance the loss of tourist sources.
If the government really considers opening up to "0+0" in October, there will definitely be more foreign tourists coming to Hong Kong.
To help the hotel industry make up for losses, the most important thing is always tourism and whether Hong Kong as a whole is attractive.
The relaxation of quarantine also means that there will be no more quarantined people staying in local hotels. After opening to the outside world, Hong Kong citizens can go out and march more freely, which may also affect the number of "staycation" in Hong Kong, which will inevitably lead to the local hotel industry. Some business is missing.
The exchange rate is the driving factor to target customers
Therefore, rather than blindly demanding openness, the government and society must actively increase the advantages of Hong Kong's tourism industry.
Especially since the beginning of this year, the exchange rate of the US dollar has stood out, and the US dollar exchange rate index has risen by 17.8%.
The currencies of Japan and Taiwan, which also recently opened to tourism, fell 20.7% and 13.0% against the dollar respectively, suggesting that Hong Kong faces fierce competition.
Business tourists are not sensitive to factors such as attractions and exchange rates, but ordinary tourists value it more.
Before the epidemic in 2019, nearly 70% of the overnight tourists who visited Hong Kong for vacation reasons outside the mainland came from neighboring regions such as East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
In order to improve Hong Kong's competitiveness, it must strengthen tourism promotion and cooperation in these areas, and even design tourism themed itineraries for underground drugs.
Opening-up measures should balance the consideration of epidemic prevention and strengthen tourism to expand economic benefits, but it can be done freely.
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