CNN
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Chan, a market vendor, gestures through what was once one of Hong Kong’s busiest streets.
“Now there are no tourists at all,” he says. Chan sells silver earrings, necklaces and scarves on Kowloon’s Tung Chai Street, famous for its lively night market.
The past three years have been tough for him. Before the pandemic, the stalls were open until 10pm, but these days they close at 7pm.
He wants quick changes with the end of quarantine measures that have had a devastating impact on businesses dependent on tourism.
In recent days, Hong Kong has taken steps to reopen to the world, first lifting a mandatory three-day hotel quarantine and then announcing it would host the World Bank Summit in November.
The city is also holding a giveaway project. 500,000,000 airline ticketsthe campaign, valued at approximately $254.8 million, will be offered to visitors and residents worldwide as part of the “Market Recovery Campaign.”
Officials hope these moves will restore Hong Kong’s status as an international business and travel hub, but some locals feel change may be coming too slowly. .
of Release from quarantine It was embraced with joy by the city’s residents, who have endured over two years of overwhelming pandemic countermeasures.
Hong Kong’s strictest quarantine rules required those entering the country to spend 21 days in a hotel room at their own expense. Only Hong Kong residents were allowed to enter the country.
If you are unlucky enough to come from certain regions or countries with high numbers of coronavirus cases, you may find yourself in the following situations: government-run facilities.
As a result, traffic in and out of the financial hub was at a record low.
As news of the quarantine being lifted was announced on Friday, September 30, travel-hungry Hong Kongers rushed to book flights online. The city’s flag carrier, Cathay Pacific, has set up a virtual “waiting room” to access its website, where wait times can easily stretch to 30 minutes.
Expedia, an online travel booking service, said searches for flights from Hong Kong to Tokyo have jumped nine times and searches for flights from Hong Kong to Osaka have jumped 11 times on its website.
But Lavinia Rajaram, Expedia’s director of Asia communications, said interest in flights to Hong Kong remained the same.
Hotel quarantine may be gone, but the city still imposes a three-day period in which visitors are prohibited from eating at restaurants or going to bars. That, and complex visit requirements such as proof of vaccination and negative tests before flight, could deter potential visitors.
Hong Kong will host the International Rugby Sevens Tournament in November, which has been held every year since 1976 except for the past two years. It was a popular spectacle that drew fans from overseas before the pandemic, but it’s questionable how many people will be brave enough to defy border restrictions.
Drinking is permitted, but eating and drinking is prohibited within the event. Fans will be required to wear masks at all times, except when drinking alcohol, the city government said.
Hong Kong’s Asian neighbors, including Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, have taken steps in the past few weeks to remove the last remaining barriers to travel and make Hong Kong a more attractive destination for international travelers.
Another cloud hanging over the forecast is that mainland China remains in a zero-coronavirus regime. In 2019, the year before travel was severely restricted, 78% of the city’s visitors came from the mainland.
Government efforts to reopen and promote the city have come too late for restaurant owner Maxence Travers. Last year, he was forced to close his Honi Honi Tiki Bar business.
He says the nine-year-old bar didn’t survive the 2019 protests and pandemic. After a six-month closure, he opened a restaurant in the city’s Dahang district, but he said he is fighting to keep the restaurant open.
Traverse’s business is one of many in the food and beverage industry that has permanently closed during the pandemic. Some of the city’s iconic Cantonese restaurants have also closed, including Mido Cafe, Jimmy’s Kitchen, and Lin Heung Tea House.
Mr Travers was deeply disturbed by an interview with Hong Kong Health Secretary Lo Chung Mau, in which he said Hong Kong would remain open unless new variants of the coronavirus emerge.
“I cried. Depression. It was really hard, that hard feeling. I said, ‘No more.’ Almost 3 years in a row. You know, it was tough,” Travers said.
He believes simply reopening the city won’t be enough to recapture what attracted him 12 years ago.
“We need to provide excitement to Hong Kong because we have lost so much right now,” he said.
