Since the outbreak of the new crown virus, it has been two years since the outbreak. Western countries have not been able to control the epidemic situation and are ready to "coexist" with the virus.
On the other hand, Hong Kong maintains the policy of "clearing zero", but has no choice but to break out the fifth wave of the epidemic, and the relaxation of epidemic prevention measures is still in the future.
Recently, foreign media have reported that many companies are planning to transfer their employees outside Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong 01" received news that Royal Caribbean Cruises (Royal Caribbean) plans to "withdraw" due to the strict epidemic prevention measures in Hong Kong, and transfer cruise ships in Hong Kong to Singapore, which means that the company's "high seas cruise" launched in October last year or It will be suspended, and the tourism industry in Hong Kong will be worse off.
In July last year, Hong Kong resumed the "high seas cruise", but under the epidemic prevention policy, the operation of the cruise industry has suffered repeated setbacks.
In October last year, a crew member of the Royal Caribbean International Cruise "Spectrum of the Seas" was diagnosed, the voyage was cancelled, and the "high seas tour" was suspended for 21 days; in early January this year, 9 close contacts with the confirmed group of Omicron boarded. On board the "Spectrum of the Seas", at the request of the Center for Health Protection, the cruise ship must return to the cruise terminal, and the sailing voyage departing from the port on January 9, 12, 14 and 17 was cancelled.
There is no deadline for customs clearance in Hong Kong, and "High Seas Cruise" has been hit repeatedly. Due to the restrictions on the business due to the epidemic prevention measures and the certain expenses for long-term berthing, "Hong Kong 01" received news that Royal Caribbean International Cruises plans to "exit" Hong Kong and take its The deployment of the cruise ship to Singapore means that the company's "high seas cruise" in Hong Kong in October last year may be suspended.
"Hong Kong 01" inquired about the relevant news to Royal Caribbean International Cruises. The company representative did not confirm the news, but only responded that an announcement will be made when there is the latest news.
Yao Boliang: No official notice has been received yet
"Hong Kong 01" also inquired about the incident with Yao Pak-leung, a member of the Legislative Council from the tourism industry. He said that the industry has also heard relevant news, "We have all heard the news, but there is no official black and white (notice) for the time being. Evacuation... The news I received is that there is no official notification to the industry for a few months, or a few days, not the (Hong Kong) operation, and I have received this kind of wind."
Yao Bailiang pointed out that it took a lot of hard work to win the "cruise on the high seas" under the epidemic. It has been in operation for more than half a year. Royal Caribbean and Dream Cruises, the two companies have received about 150,000 passengers in total, and neither has ever been diagnosed with a single case of new coronary pneumonia, only one case has occurred. False positives, as early as the case of close contacts on board.
Yao Boliang suggested that the government should set up a cross-departmental task force to coordinate and integrate resources, and participate in the routes recommended by the industry to integrate culture and tourism.
(File photo/Photo by Gao Zhongming)
Want the government to formulate clear guidelines
Yao Bailiang pointed out that the cruise company hopes that the Hong Kong government will have clear guidelines, and contingency plans should be made under different circumstances. From an angle, I think it is unreasonable. If we follow Hong Kong's epidemic prevention requirements, there may not be room for profit, and we have already laughed. (This decision) is a business decision on the one hand, and the government's guidance is insufficient on the other hand."
He understands that the government does not want the epidemic to break out in Hong Kong, but the epidemic prevention measures on cruise ships are stricter than others, such as providing a test report 48 hours before, and needing to be vaccinated; Doctors, etc., "You don't wash when you go to shopping malls or theme parks... There is no need to stop for 21 days if there is a confirmed diagnosis in a scenic spot. After disinfection, you can (continue operation)." Yao Boliang continued, hoping that the government will cooperate with the ship The company strengthens communication and formulates reasonable and scientific guidelines.
(file picture)
In response to "Hong Kong 01", Yuan Zhenning, the executive director of Zonghengyou, said that he has not received relevant news for the time being. If the situation is true, it is estimated that it is only the general business arrangement of the shipping company, which will reduce the impact of the crew on Hong Kong's epidemic prevention measures and make the operation adjustment more flexible. , "It seems that Cathay Pacific will move planes around."
He pointed out that this arrangement is "not necessarily negative" and believes that it is impossible for cruise companies to give up their business in Hong Kong. "It is always higher than Singapore in terms of population and other aspects."
Dream Cruises: Suspended sailings cost tens of millions a week
Under the restrictions of epidemic prevention measures, cruise ships were forced to suspend sailings and cancelled multiple flights, which had a direct impact on the income of cruise companies.
Dream Cruises, a subsidiary of Genting Hong Kong, said earlier that the suspension of sailings will not only affect the company’s revenue, but the company still has to pay salaries to 1,300 cruise employees, invite berthing fees, and refund the affected passengers. It is estimated that the weekly loss during the suspension period will reach thousands million Hong Kong dollars.
With reference to Legislative Council documents, the terminal operator's income and expenditure (including berthing fees and shop rents) and financial estimates are confidential business information, so no relevant figures have been disclosed.
Royal Caribbean International Cruises at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal
In fact, Royal Caribbean International and Kai Tak Cruise Terminal have a long history.
The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal opened in September 2014 and can berth two 50,000-ton cruise ships.
The first cruise ship berthed at the new pier at the time was the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Elite Millennium.
In addition, the Trans-American Cruise Terminal, which operates and manages the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, is composed of three companies: Trans-American Cruises, Royal Caribbean International Cruises, and Guanxin Company under the Shun Tak Group, of which Trans-American Cruises holds 60% of the shares. The remaining two companies each accounted for 20%.
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