Hong Kong to Re-visit Travel Bubble Concept

To give travel a boost, the Hong Kong government will discuss and work out arrangements for quarantine-free air travel bubbles with “places that have close economic and trade relations with Hong Kong and where the epidemic situation is relatively stable,” Finance Secretary Paul Chan said while introducing the new 2021-2022 budget on Wednesday.

Hong Kong is reported to be currently in talks with Singapore about opening one such travel bubble but Chan’s announcement suggests more cities could be considered for similar arrangements, the South China Morning Post reported.

Late last year, Singapore and Hong Kong were about to launch a travel corridor between the two cities but that plan was called off when coronavirus case numbers began to spike in the Chinese city.

It is not clear which other city pairs are being discussed but Vietnam and Thailand appear to be logical choice - as well as some mainland cities.

The travel bubble with Singapore, which would have allowed for quarantine-free travel between the two destinations along with Covid-19 tests on each end, had been set to begin on 22 November, with flights to be operated by the flag carriers of each city, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.