Singapore and Hong Kong have reached an in-principle agreement to set up a two-way air travel bubble, which will allow for travel between the two destinations without the need for quarantine or a controlled itinerary.
Under the travel bubble, there will be no restrictions on travel purpose. However, travellers will be subject to mutually recognised Covid-19 tests and will need to have negative test results, said the Ministry of Transport (MOT) in a press release on Thursday. Those travelling under the bubble will also be required to travel on dedicated flights, it added.
The air travel bubble can be scaled by adjusting the number of dedicated flights upwards or downwards, or even suspended, in line with the latest developments and Covid-19 situation in the two cities, said MOT.
Transport minister Ong Ye Kung said in the release: “Both our cities have low incidence of Covid-19 cases and have put in place robust mechanisms to manage and control Covid-19. This has given us the confidence to mutually and progressively open our borders to each other. It is significant that our two regional aviation hubs have decided to collaborate to establish an air travel bubble.
“It is a safe, careful but significant step forward to revive air travel, and provide a model for future collaboration with other parts of the world.”
According to the MOT, Singapore and Hong Kong will flesh out the full details of the air travel bubble “in the coming weeks”, with its launch date and other implementation details to be announced in due course.
Conrad Clifford, IATA’s regional vice president for Asia Pacific, welcomed the announcement of the Hong Kong-Singapore air travel bubble.
“Replacing quarantine measures with Covid-19 testing will help in reopening borders, restoring the connectivity that jobs and economic activity depends on, and gives passengers greater confidence to travel. In a recent 11-market survey of travellers commissioned by IATA, 83 per cent of respondents indicated that they will not travel if there is a chance of being quarantined at their destination,” he said.
Clifford also urged other governments in Asia to take a similar approach to replace quarantine with Covid-19 testing as part of their efforts to reopen their borders and start restoring their economies.
Tourist arrivals to Macau are gradually picking up pace, with the special administrative region welcoming 156,000 visitors over the National Day Golden Week holiday, which took place between October 1-8, following the reopening of its borders to mainland visitors.
Although the figure marked a year-on-year fall of 86 per cent in average daily visitor arrivals, according to provisional statistics from the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), it signalled a post-Covid rebound.
The city recorded 145,000 visitors from the mainland, which was the major source of visitors, constituting 93.1 per cent of total visitor arrivals with an 84 per cent decline in average daily visitor arrivals from last year.
Owing to virus containment measures, Macau registered only 9,614 and 1,231 visitor arrivals from the Hong Kong and Taiwan regions, respectively, as well as 13 visitor arrivals coming from international markets.
Visitor arrivals from the mainland have gradually risen in recent months as the pandemic situation stabilises in Macau and the mainland.
The rebound can also be attributed to MGTO’s active campaign to promote the reinstatement of travel permit issuance for mainland residents to Macau. From the first week after travel permit issuance was resumed up to the Golden Week, the average daily visitor arrivals rose from around 6,000 to nearly 20,000.
Figures provided by industry operators revealed that local hotel establishments (hotels and guest houses) saw an average occupancy rate of 43.6 per cent during the Golden Week, a year-on-year decrease of 50.4 percentage points. To date, the supply of local hotels and guest houses has reached a total of 42,441 rooms.
Industry figures show that the average occupancy rate for five-star hotels was 43.2 per cent, down 52.0 percentage points; for four-star hotels, 45.2 per cent, down 47.4 percentage points; for three-star hotels, 51.9 per cent, down 42.8 percentage points; for two-star hotels, 21.4 per cent, down 61.0 percentage points; and for guest houses, 23.9 per cent, down 51.7 percentage points.
The average room rate of hotel establishments in Macau was 1,290.5 patacas (US$161.9) during the Golden Week, a year-on-year decline of 30.0 per cent. The average room rates for five- and four-star hotels were 1,634 patacas and 605.2 patacas respectively, down 26.9 per cent and 49.4 per cent respectively; for three- and two-star hotels, 821.6 patacas and 285.7 patacas respectively, a decrease of 32.2 per cent and 69.7 per cent; for local guest houses, 240.3 patacas, down 65.7 per cent.