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Why are some people not excited about Singapore's tourism bubble?

2020-10-16T22:12:48.711Z


Singapore became the first country with Hong Kong to establish a tourism bubble. The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Qiu Tenghua announced on Thursday (16th) that the two sides have reached a principled agreement to allow the possession of the new crown virus 72 hours before departure


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Written by: Commentary Editing Room

2020-10-17 06:00

Last update date: 2020-10-17 06:00

Singapore became the first country with Hong Kong to establish a tourism bubble.

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Qiu Tenghua announced on Thursday (16th) that the two sides have reached an agreement in principle to allow passengers from the two places who have a negative test for the new crown virus 72 hours before departure to travel on designated flights, and after they arrive The quarantine period is exempt, and the itinerary is not restricted.

After the measures were announced, Hong Kong people had mixed reactions to this. Some people were happy that they would eventually be exempted from quarantine, but some people said that the destination was unattractive.

Qiu Tenghua pointed out that the Hong Kong government has reached an agreement in principle with Singapore on air travel bubbles. It will take several weeks to complete the amendments and preparatory work, and it will start after completion.

(Photo by Yu Junliang)

The desire to build a bubble Hong Kong travel star may not be high

The Hong Kong government announced earlier that it was discussing with Guangdong, Macao and 11 countries to relax travel restrictions. As a result, overseas Singapore took the lead and replaced compulsory quarantine with testing.

Singapore’s Minister of Transport, Wang Yiqiang, pointed out that the two places have a low rate of spreading the virus, and they face similar risks. They also have strict mechanisms to control the epidemic. Therefore, tourism bubbles between the two sides can be successful.

Moreover, both Hong Kong and Singapore are regional aviation hubs, but the two narrow areas do not have inland flights to support passenger transportation. Airlines are facing a crisis of survival, and the government naturally needs to find ways to restore cross-border shipping.

However, how many people are willing to "walk into" the tourist bubble is a big question.

First of all, the testing fee is often more than 1,000 yuan each time, and the governments of the two places have not finalized whether passengers should be tested again when they arrive. If they are also tested every time they leave and enter the country, the total cost may be more expensive than air tickets and accommodation.

Secondly, the two places are still in the process of negotiating details, such as drawing up a list of approved testing agencies, designating flights, and amending health laws. Therefore, it is expected that the real thing will take place until Christmas. By then, the two places will enter the winter, and the number of infections may pick up at any time. Blast when it gets bigger.

Third, the cases in the two places have not been cleared so far, and some Hong Kong people are therefore worried about the need to stay there and deal with large medical expenses after being infected in Singapore.

Fourth, Singapore is not a popular tourist destination for Hong Kong people. Some netizens even denounce the lack of scenic spots in the area and it is not worth a special trip.

Tourism bubbles: New Zealand and Australia caught the attention of the outside world in May because they were the first countries to negotiate a "tourism bubble". The project called "Trans-Tasman Tourism Bubble" allows citizens of the two countries to travel between the two places without having to Accept quarantine or testing.

They were originally intended to be implemented in September, but due to an outbreak in Victoria, Australia in early August, the plan has been put on hold.

The picture shows in December 2017, people who came to Australia's Gold Coast to surf and wait for the big waves to arrive.

(AP)

To consolidate the bubbles depends on the success or failure of the fight against the epidemic

To be fair, many Hong Kong people prefer to establish tourism bubbles with the Mainland, Japan, and Taiwan, etc., which are frequently visited. This is probably the reason why Singapore's tourism bubble has not received much applause. However, from the standpoint of local governments, It is very important to curb the export and import of cases. They really cannot open the entry of Hong Kong tourists in a hurry.

Guangdong Province and Macau have zero confirmed cases in multiple days, and the governments of the two places are naturally unwilling to fall. They are highly wary of restoring the passenger flow in Hong Kong. Although Taiwan has been diagnosed locally for multiple days, although there are sporadic imported cases, it is estimated that the same will not be affected by external political factors. Will easily release tourists to tourist ports.

As for the Japanese government, despite the earlier rumors of relaxing the immigration arrangements for foreigners, there are still hundreds of new cases every day in the local area. The epidemic is fundamentally more serious than Hong Kong. It is temporarily impossible to hope that the two sides can restart tourism exchanges.

In fact, air tickets for travel around Hong Kong have been sold out recently. It can be seen that many Hong Kong people are indeed eager to travel abroad, and local travel retail companies are facing the brink of bankruptcy, and they are also in urgent need of rescue by inbound tourists.

Hong Kong, where the local confirmed cases have not been cleared, is really not easy to fight for "customs clearance" where the epidemic is lighter, and Singapore's willingness to give the "green light" this time is definitely not easy.

If Hong Kong people want to increase their tourist destinations under the global epidemic, they must first truly hand in their brilliant anti-epidemic results, and the governments must seek truth from facts.

The greatest significance of the establishment of the tourism bubble this time is undoubtedly to provide us with an opportunity to formulate a set of guidelines for safe tourism in advance, and to accumulate experience to prepare for the further relief of the epidemic situation in various places to complete the relaxation of the tourism system more quickly.

Can the "Super Travel Bubble" get rid of the predicament of not being able to travel abroad?

[New crown pneumonia] The epidemic changes tourism culture, the Hong Kong government needs to work with the industry to change

[New Coronary Pneumonia] The tourism bubble that the society is waiting for

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Source: hk1

All news articles on 2020-10-16

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