Hong Kong residents will be able to visit Singapore without being forced to quarantine for two weeks as part of an economy-boosting travel bubble to launch Nov. 22. The deal is reciprocal, officials said Wednesday.
"This is the very first air travel bubble for Hong Kong," Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau said Wednesday. "It reflects the government's hope to progressively restore the city's economic activities amid the long-drawn battle against COVI-19."
Up to 200 residents in each city will be able to travel each day on designated flights if they have tested negative within 72 hours of departing. The quota will be doubled after 15 days and the number of daily each-way flights will double to two.
The air travel bubble will be suspended if the seven-day average of unlinked local cases exceeds five cases in Singapore or Hong Kong. People with a recent travel history outside either city won't be allowed to participate.
"The revival of air travel between the two places is of utmost importance and we hope that...businesses can benefit from it - thereby enabling Hong Kong's economy to recover gradually," Yau said.
Tourism in the special administrative region has been badly affected by the pandemic. Foreign arrivals fell 91% in the first seven months of the year and hotel occupancy rates were 29% in January before bouncing back to 50% in August, according to government data.
Retailers in Hong Kong - extremely hard hit by the dearth of mainland China consumers who normally buoy luxury goods sales - have been forced to renege on rent or close.
To reduce the strain on businesses, Hong Kong asked 11 foreign governments in early September to negotiate bilateral travel bubbles.
Six countries showed interest including Vietnam, France, Malaysia and Germany. The deal with Singapore is the first to come to fruition.
