Hong Kong Eases Visiting Rules for Tour Groups
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Hong Kong will ease pandemic-related rules for travelers in tour groups this month.
Hong Kong will ease pandemic-related rules for travelers in tour groups this month, the latest step the city has taken to welcome back tourists.
Later in November, Hong Kong will allow visitors in tour groups to enter certain tourist attractions like theme parks, museums, and temples, as well as eat in “partitioned areas” in designated restaurants, according to the government. These tour groups must be received by licensed travel agents and pre-register their itineraries.
“The Government announced… that under the principle of striking a balance between epidemic risks and the need for economic development, and considering that the inbound tour group travellers concerned would be received and assisted to carry out tourist activities in compliance with the anti-epidemic measures by travel agents and accompanied by licensed tourist guides, specific arrangements for inbound tour group travellers will be launched this month,” the government wrote in an advisory on Monday. “The relevant arrangements can support the gradual resumption of the inbound travel market in an orderly manner, and provide a more favourable business environment for the travel trade.”
It was not immediately clear when these new rules would go into effect.
The decision to make it easier for tour groups to visit comes weeks after Hong Kong eliminated its 3-day hotel quarantine, instead implementing a “0+3” policy in which travelers must self monitor for symptoms for three days but can do so from home. During that time, travelers are able to go outside, but restricted from certain places like bars and restaurants.
The city also ended the requirement to undergo a PCR test before boarding a flight, and instead requires travelers to take a rapid antigen test 24 hours before they board. Travelers must also undergo multiple PCR tests after arrival as well as undergo rapid antigen tests each day for seven days.
The new rules on tour groups mirror a similar concept that was implemented in Japan before the country started welcoming independent travelers again.
source: Travel and Leisure
