HONG KONG: No Testing on Arrival from China; Govt to Offer 5,00,000 Free Flight to Woo Tourists

HONG KONG: Hong Kong is ready to welcome visitors after a lull of more than three years now. Authorities announced Friday that travel between Hong Kong and China will no longer require PCR tests. Only those who have traveled overseas within the past seven days would be required to produce their negative PCR result, Hong Kong and Chinese authorities said Friday.

“From Monday, there will be a full resumption of travel between Hong Kong and the mainland,” Hong Kong leader John Lee said Friday at a news briefing. He added quotas for travelers will be scrapped and all boundary checkpoints will reopen next week. However, the number of travelers entering the mainland from Hong Kong via land checkpoints was limited to 50,000 a day.

On Thursday, Lee unveiled Hong Kong’s promotion campaign which will include 5,00,000 free flights. This move was played in order to lure visitors to the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

The govt campaign named ‘Hello Hong Kong’ bills itself as an effort to tell ‘good stories’ about the southern Chinese city, where years of political oppression coupled with the pandemic tarnished businesses tremendously. The giveaway will open in March with 80,000 tickets being issued for residents in the summer. Airlines like Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Express, and Hong Kong Airlines will receive tickets from the govt to be distributed to overseas visitors for six months starting March.

Hong Kong sealed its borders in view of the pandemic three years ago in a bid to ward off COVID-19 infections and mandated three weeks of quarantine on arrival.