‘Halfway plan’: no surge in bookings for Hong Kong hotels ahead of quarantine easing, operators call for removal of all Covid travel rules

Hong Kong hotels have not enjoyed any immediate surge in bookings after the government announced it will end mandatory quarantine for overseas arrivals, operators say, while some industry leaders have expressed pessimism over any potential boom in business.

Industry leaders welcomed the move revealed on Friday, calling it “a leap forward”, but some urged authorities to remove all travel restrictions to make the city more attractive to tourists.

Arrivals from overseas and Taiwan are currently required to undergo a three-day quarantine at a designated hotel and four days of medical surveillance under a “3+4” arrangement.

But from Monday, they will be subject only to a “0+3” scheme – three days of medical surveillance at their choice of premises, including their home or any hotel they book for their stay. But they will not be allowed to visit certain places, such as restaurants, during this period.

Kelvin Chan Cho-kit, secretary of the Kowloon Guesthouse Alliance, said he was not optimistic the relaxed curbs would significantly boost business.

“It is already good if our occupancy rate can return to 50 per cent compared with the level before the pandemic … We haven’t seen any surge in reservations yet,” he said.

Chan said he hoped more international events would return to Hong Kong, adding that the city remained unattractive to business travellers as many exhibitions were cancelled. Mainland Chinese travellers were deterred from visiting due to strict quarantine measures across the border, he noted.

Increased competition among hotels and guest houses was expected, he said, as quarantine hotels would return to the regular market when the new measure began.