Industry welcomes opening of no-restriction travel corridor between Singapore and Hong Kong
I am already imagining spending Christmas in Hong Kong, feeling the crisp cold of a winter season, taking in the lights of one of Asia’s most vibrant, dynamic cities and catching up with friends in some of the best restaurants in the world.
Yes, one shouldn’t count Christmases before they are hatched but it looks like that dream could become a reality after news yesterday that Hong Kong and Singapore have agreed to the first bilateral travel corridor with no restrictions, no quarantine, no fixed itinerary – the only requirement being testing.
The date of the opening has yet to be announced but both sides said it could be “within weeks” and you could almost hear the cheering on both sides of the South China Sea when the news set social media networks ablaze. This is a massive breakthrough for travel – it’s the first no-restriction international travel corridor opened between countries in the region, based on testing, since the coronavirus pandemic closed borders in Asia seven months ago.c
According to this Bloomberg report, travellers must have been in Hong Kong or Singapore for 14 days before departure and will need to take mutually recognised Covid-19 tests and require negative results. More details will be released shortly.
With airlines on their knees, airports hollowed out, hotels emptied out, places like Singapore and Hong Kong have the most to lose. There is no domestic tourism to fall back on, they depend on an open world to survive.
There have been more rays of light popping up for travel as the industry pushes for rapid testing as a means by which to open doors. A Singapore Ministry of Health statement dated October 12 says, “Covid-19 testing is an integral part of the safe re-opening of our borders. We will make Covid-19 tests more accessible to travellers. Laboratories, clinics and swab service providers who are interested can apply to the Ministry of Health (MOH) for approval to provide such Covid-19 testing services.”
Last month, Cathay Pacific announced it is working with Hong Kong start-up Prenetics to launch a digital health passport that allows travellers to show their negative Covid-19 test results on a mobile app before boarding. The pilot will kick off on the Hong Kong-London route from October, according to this report in the South China Morning Post.
IATA, whose members are glaring at a 92% drop in air travel, has joined the call for “rapid, accurate, affordable, easy-to-operate, scalable and systematic Covid-19 testing” for all passengers before departure, saying it will work through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and with health authorities to implement this solution quickly.
Jennifer Cronin, president of Wharf Hotels Group (pictured right), said, “While the exact date has yet to be confirmed, we are all very excited that our two like-minded international gateway cities are creating a true ATB (air travel bubble). It is only right that our governments are showing this vote of confidence in all the hard work of both cities, since we are Covid management success stories globally in so many ways.
“It may be only a tiny step for Hong Kong and Singapore with our small domestic populations, but it is a great leap of faith in the future of our travel industry and will serve as a test case to create more ATBs. There is a fine line between protecting the health of our people and the health of our economies, so we cannot afford to delay finding common technology platforms that will allow safe and seamless travel to restart.”
Ang Choo Pin, managing director & senior director, government and corporate affairs, Asia, Expedia Group (pictured left), who has been at the forefront of efforts to get governments to open borders for leisure travel, said, “Expedia Group welcomes the announcement on the Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble, and strongly urges both the Singapore and Hong Kong governments to consult and work closely with the travel industry as they finalize its operational framework, in order to deliver a seamless traveller journey for the residents of both cities.
“This bubble has the potential to demonstrate that with a robust and tamperproof testing, certification, and verification regime, international travel can resume in a safe manner even in the midst of a pandemic.”
Ross Veitch, CEO and co-founder of Wego (pictured), whose company has also been 
working with Expedia in a proposal for a pilot to open a safe green lane for leisure travellers between Maldives and Singapore, is elated by the news. “It’s great to see the Singapore and Hong Kong governments taking this pragmatic and urgently needed step to restart cross-border travel leveraging testing to free travellers from the need to quarantine.”
“Both Singapore and Hong Kong now have Covid infection rates down to negligible levels so the relative risk of a person flying from Chek Lap Kok to Changi is about the same as somebody taking a taxi from Pasir Ris to Punggol”.
“The new Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble is a good bilateral deal template for other governments to borrow so as to restart travel along other corridors.”
Marcus Yong, vice president marketing, APAC, Klook (pictured left), said, “We’re excited at the formation of the travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong. After months of pent-up demand, we believe that people are eager to reconnect with the world, to explore and experience joy again with travel.
“Pre-pandemic, both Singapore and Hong Kong proved to be popular destinations for customers and we expect the same once the travel bubble and the requisite safety measures are put in place. However we believe that Hongkongers and Singaporeans will be more cautious, with a slow but sure rebound on the cards.”