hong kong travel bubble

Hong Kong and Singapore are establishing a 'travel bubble'

Apr 27, 2021 • 2 min read

Hong Kong and Singapore are launching a travel bubble © Rasto SK/Shutterstock

Hong Kong and Singapore have agreed to launch an air travel bubble beginning 26 May to help revive cross-border air travel. Travelers going between the two destinations will not have to undergo quarantine, as long as they fulfill the conditions of traveling within the bubble.

The air route between Hong Kong and Singapore was among the busiest in the Asia-Pacific region before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, as they enjoy strong trade, investment, finance, tourism and people-to-people ties. Conditions going forward include that passengers departing from Hong Kong are required to be vaccinated at least two weeks in advance. Travelers in both directions must test negative for the virus within three days of departure and again on arrival. They must also travel on designated flights that only serve fellow travel-bubble passengers.

To start off cautiously, there will only be one flight per day in each direction for the first two weeks, carrying a maximum of 200 passengers. The passenger’s travel history prior to departure will also be taken into account. They are required to have no travel history to any place other than Singapore or Hong Kong in the 14 days prior to departure, and the respective compulsory quarantine periods arising from prior visits outside both destinations does not count towards that period.

This is due to the spread of mutated strains of COVID-19 around the world, and the possibility of infected people having an incubation period of more than 14 days. Travelers from both areas are also required to download the other destinations' contact-tracing app prior to their departure—Singapore's TraceTogether and Hong Kong's LeaveHomeSafe mobile applications.

Travelers should note that the travel bubble will be suspended for at least two weeks if the seven-day moving average of unlinked community cases in either city increases to more than five. Further information on the travel bubble can be found on the official website here. 

This article was first published on October 16, 2020 and updated on April 27, 2021. 

You might also like:

Rare pink and white dolphins return to the waters of Hong Kong Europe to open to vaccinated Americans this summer - here's what you need to know Singapore is launching 'cruises to nowhere'

This article was first published October 2020 and updated April 2021

Explore related stories

Apr 28, 2023 • 5 min read

Last year, the Hong Kong tourism board hatched a plan to encourage tourism by promising to give away half a million plane tickets to international visitors…

Dec 29, 2021 • 7 min read

Nov 30, 2021 • 6 min read

Oct 27, 2021 • 7 min read

Jan 6, 2021 • 2 min read

Oct 21, 2020 • 2 min read

Sep 24, 2020 • 2 min read

Sep 11, 2020 • 2 min read

Jun 26, 2020 • 6 min read

May 15, 2020 • 5 min read

The Straits Times

• International
• Print Edition
• news with benefits
• SPH Rewards
• STClassifieds
• Berita Harian
• Hardwarezone
• Shin Min Daily News
• SRX Property
• Tamil Murasu
• The Business Times
• The New Paper
• Lianhe Zaobao
• Advertise with us

S'pore-Hong Kong air travel bubble to start on May 26: Ong Ye Kung

SINGAPORE - The much-anticipated air travel bubble to allow quarantine-free travel between Singapore and Hong Kong is set to take off on May 26 - six months after its initial planned launch.

Originally planned to start in November last year, it was deferred by both parties due to the worsening Covid-19 situation in Hong Kong.

Singapore's Ministry of Transport (MOT) said on Monday (April 26) that the travel bubble will have a cautious start. There will be one flight a day in each direction, capped at 200 passengers on each flight for the first two weeks.

The numbers will be reviewed thereafter.

Rules for travel will also be tightened. Travellers must have remained in either Singapore or Hong Kong in the 14 days prior to departure, and the 14-day period must exclude any time spent in quarantine or under stay-home notice arising from their last return to Singapore or Hong Kong from overseas.

In addition, they must now download and install Hong Kong's LeaveHomeSafe app on their mobile devices prior to leaving Singapore for Hong Kong.

If the air travel bubble has to be suspended when the seven-day moving average of the unlinked community cases in either Singapore or Hong Kong increases to above five, it can resume only when the Covid-19 situation has stabilised.

As agreed under the original deal, passengers from both sides have to be tested negative for Covid-19 before they can board the direct flights.

There is now an additional requirement for Hong Kong passport holders leaving the territory. They must be fully vaccinated before taking the bubble flights.

This vaccination requirement will not apply to Singapore citizens and others using non-Hong Kong travel documents for departure.

In Hong Kong, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau said the key control element under the arrangement is to have pre-departure tests, when asked why Singaporeans flying to Hong Kong on bubble flights are not required to be vaccinated.

"In the case of Hong Kong, we have made provisions for the entire community to be vaccinated so as to protect themselves and the purpose of asking Hong Kong residents going out to have vaccination prior joining the scheme is in fact protecting their own health," he said. "This would be an additional safeguard for our people."

He added that the goal remains to strike a balance between public health and travel convenience.

In Singapore, Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung said: "I am happy that Hong Kong got the Covid-19 situation under control. It has been a long few months, but the conditions are now ripe again to relaunch the ATB (air travel bubble). Both sides will need to stay very vigilant in the next one month, so that we can launch the first flights smoothly."

Singapore and Hong Kong will closely monitor the Covid-19 situation from now to the targeted launch date of May 26, and will proceed with the launch if the situation continues to be steady and under control in both cities, the statement added.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said the first bubble flight to Hong Kong, SQ882, will depart on May 26 at 8.40am.

SIA welcomed the decision to start the air travel bubble. "This is an important milestone in our recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, and helps to establish confidence in the safe resumption of international air travel with the necessary protocols in place," its spokesman said.

The travel bubble, which was initially scheduled to begin on Nov 22, was postponed on Nov 21 after a spike in Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong.

On Dec 1, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said both cities had decided to defer the start of the travel arrangement to beyond 2020, given the high number of unlinked cases in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam had said on April 13 that she expects "an early indication of agreement between the two sides" on the travel bubble.

The next update came on April 14 when Mr Ong announced that details of the arrangement were being finalised.

Some experts have pointed out that such travel bubble arrangements are fragile and can easily burst given the uncertain Covid-19 situation.

Australia and New Zealand had this month started a long-awaited quarantine-free travel bubble on April 18.

But the arrangement was paused just five days later on April 23, after a Covid-19 outbreak in Australia.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

• Travel bubble/travel corridor
• Aviation/Aerospace sector
• Ong Ye Kung

Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards

Spin the wheel now

• Sustainability
• Latest News
• News Reports
• Documentaries & Shows
• TV Schedule
• CNA938 Live
• Radio Schedule
• Singapore Parliament
• Mental Health
• Interactives
• Entertainment
• Style & Beauty
• Experiences
• Remarkable Living
• Send us a news tip
• Events & Partnerships
• Business Blueprint
• Health Matters
• The Asian Traveller

Trending Topics

Follow our news, recent searches, singapore-hong kong air travel bubble: what you need to know before booking a flight, advertisement.

SilkAir, Singapore Airlines and Scoot planes sit on the tarmac at Changi Airport in Singapore. (File photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)

Gabrielle Andres

SINGAPORE: Singapore and Hong Kong on Monday (Apr 26) announced that a long-delayed air travel bubble between the two cities is set to launch on May 26 , after it was deferred last year following a spike in COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong .

Under the travel bubble, there are no restrictions on the purpose of travel and no requirements for a controlled itinerary or sponsorship.

Here are the things you need to know before booking your flight:

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR TRAVEL UNDER THE TRAVEL BUBBLE?

Individuals who have remained in Singapore and/or Hong Kong for 14 consecutive days prior to departure are eligible for travel.

However, this period excludes any compulsory quarantine or stay-home notice period arising from their last return to Singapore or Hong Kong from overseas.

Singapore work permit or S-Pass holders working in the construction, marine shipyard, or process sectors are excluded from travelling from Singapore to Hong Kong under the travel bubble.

READ: Singapore, Hong Kong to relaunch travel bubble on May 26

HOW MANY FLIGHTS WILL THERE BE?

Travel under the Singapore-Hong Kong air travel bubble must be on designated flights, currently operated by Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

Transit passengers and those not travelling under the air travel bubble will not be allowed on the designated flights.

From May 26 to Jun 9, there will be one flight per day from Singapore to Hong Kong and vice-versa, with up to 200 passengers per flight.

This will increase to two flights daily, with up to 200 passengers per flight, from Jun 10.

The number of flights will be allocated equally between Singapore-based and Hong Kong-based airlines, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in a release on Monday.

READ: SIA welcomes Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble relaunch; daily flights to start in June

WILL YOU NEED A COVID-19 TEST?

Travellers must test negative for COVID-19 in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which must be taken within 72 hours before their scheduled departure flight.

The tests can be done at recognised clinics, testing centres or testing institutions in Singapore and Hong Kong .

In addition, they must also take a PCR test upon arrival.

Children aged six or younger in that calendar year are not required to take the pre-departure or on-arrival test when travelling to Singapore.

Travellers arriving in Singapore are “strongly encouraged to register and pre-pay for their on-arrival COVID-19 PCR test prior to departing Hong Kong”, CAAS said.

After their on-arrival tests, travellers are to head immediately to their declared place of accommodation, where they must remain isolated until a negative test result is confirmed. They may take private transportation, taxi or private hire car from the airport.

Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders will be allowed to self-isolate at their place of residence while awaiting the COVID-19 results.

READ: Hong Kong government bars Singapore Airlines passenger flights from Apr 3 to 16; COVID-19 case detected

Visitors must book an accommodation in Singapore to serve out their self-isolation period for one to two days, while awaiting results. This must be a non-residential place and an individual room with an attached toilet.

“Checks will be made to ensure that this is adhered to,” CAAS said. “After being notified of their negative test results, travellers will be allowed to go about their activities in Singapore.”

For those travelling to Hong Kong, post-arrival PCR tests must be booked and paid for before they leave Singapore. Travellers will remain at the Hong Kong airport while awaiting their results.

WILL YOU NEED TO BE VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19?

Travellers from Singapore will not be required to have been vaccinated.

Hong Kong requires its residents to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before their flight to Singapore.

This, however, does not apply to residents who are below 16 years old, not suitable for the vaccine due to medical grounds, with less than 90 days’ stay in Hong Kong before departure or travelling under non-Hong Kong travel documents.

WILL YOU NEED TO DOWNLOAD CONTACT TRACING APPS?

Travellers will need to download and install their destination city’s contract-tracing applications prior to departure.

In Singapore, short-term visitors from Hong Kong will be required to download and register for the TraceTogether app on their mobile devices, keep it activated during their stay and not delete it for 14 consecutive days after leaving the city.

READ: More than 18,200 people visited Singapore through unilateral border openings; 70% from China

Visitors to Hong Kong are required to download and install the LeaveHomeSafe app on their mobile devices.

During the duration of their stay in Hong Kong, they must scan the QR codes displayed at the relevant premises they visit and retain the app’s visitation records for 31 days after leaving Hong Kong.

WHAT OTHER REQUIREMENTS ARE NEEDED?

Travellers from Singapore must fill in and submit a health declaration using the online Health & Quarantine Information Declaration Form within 48 hours prior to arrival in Hong Kong, as well as get the relevant QR code .

Those travelling from Hong Kong are required to full in and submit the SG Arrival card within three days prior to arrival in Singapore. Short-term visitors   will also need to apply for an Air Travel Pass between seven to 30 calendar days prior to their intended date of entry into Singapore.

They can apply for the pass on or after May 26.

WHAT CAN AFFECT THE PLANNED LAUNCH DATE?

The air travel bubble will be suspended for at least 14 days if the seven-day average of the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases (excluding dormitory resident cases in Singapore) is more than five in either city, said CAAS.

READ: COVID-19 measures eased for travellers from Hong Kong, UK, South Africa and vaccinated people in official delegations

It can resume on the next day if the seven-day moving average of daily unlinked local cases in Hong Kong and Singapore does not exceed five on the last day of the suspension period or any subsequent day.

If this is met, there must also be three consecutive days where the daily number of unlinked local cases does not exceed three in Hong Kong and Singapore, and the seven-day moving average of such cases on the last day of this period does not exceed five in both places.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU FALL SICK?

Should travellers become COVID-19 positive while in Hong Kong, they will need to shoulder the full cost of any medical treatment “subject to the respective cities’ prevailing medical and healthcare policies”, said CAAS.

Short-term visitors from Hong Kong are required to buy travel insurance with a minimum coverage of S$30,000 for COVID-19 related medical treatment and hospitalisation cost prior to travel to Singapore. This is part of the requirements under the Air Travel Pass.

“Travellers must comply with the prevailing public health and safe distancing measures in Singapore and Hong Kong,” said CAAS. “These include mask wearing and restrictions on group gatherings.”

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download  our app  or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak:  https://cna.asia/telegram

Related Topics

Also worth reading, this browser is no longer supported.

We know it's a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with CNA to be fast, secure and the best it can possibly be.

To continue, upgrade to a supported browser or, for the finest experience, download the mobile app.

Upgraded but still having issues? Contact us

Hong Kong and Singapore to open quarantine-free travel bubble

The Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble was meant to begin in November last year.

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong and Singapore have agreed to launch a travel bubble from May 26.

If all goes to plan, the long-delayed scheme will allow travelers to fly between two of Asia’s largest financial hubs without having to undergo quarantine.

Both Hong Kong and Singapore have brought community transmission largely under control and it will be the second major air route to open since Asia-Pacific closed its borders last year to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Last week Australia and New Zealand opened two-way quarantine-free travel, prompting plenty of emotional scenes as families and friends were finally able to reunite after more than a year.

MORE: Chinese artist’s Buddha Trump becomes ‘yuge’ online sensation

The Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble was first meant to begin in November last year but it was put on hold after an uptick of cases in Hong Kong.

This time around, however, there are a bunch of extra caveats and heightened pre-flying requirements.

Travelers from Hong Kong will need to be fully vaccinated at least two weeks before their trip. Passengers on both sides will need to take two tests within 72 hours before their departure time, one test on arrival in their destination and another when they return to their home city.

Visitors will also need to download the local contact tracing apps to use during their stay.

For the first two weeks there will be just two designated flights a day between Hong Kong to Singapore, one each way, carrying 200 passengers.

If there are more than a daily average of five untraceable cases of community transmission over a one-week period, the arrangement will be suspended for two weeks.

Hong Kong’s secretary for commerce and economic development Edward Yau said the added precautions were necessary because of the risk of new variants.

“Taking into account the latest situation, for example, the emergence of a mutated strain and a longer incubation period, we see the need to build additional safeguards and are taking the opportunity to encourage Hong Kong residents to complete two doses of vaccination before they travel,” said Yau.

MORE: China approves plan to tighten control of Hong Kong elections so that only ‘patriots’ run the city

The travel bubble is welcome news for Singapore Airlines and Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific, which have both been battered by the pandemic and travel restrictions.

Singapore Airlines called it “an important milestone” in their recovery and pledged to have all the health protocols in place.

Shares in both airlines were given a boost following the announcement.

There’s also hope that if these travel arrangements can prove to be effective, the bubble can grow to include other travel links in the region.

“To get this bubble up successfully, I think we’ll have a significant signaling effect to the rest of the world,” said Singapore’s transport minister Ong Ye Ku.

Related Topics

• Coronavirus

Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

The best of Singapore for free.

Sign up for our email to enjoy Singapore without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush).

Déjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

Love the mag?

Our newsletter hand-delivers the best bits to your inbox. Sign up to unlock our digital magazines and also receive the latest news, events, offers and partner promotions.

• Things to Do
• Food & Drink
• Shopping & Style
• Coca-Cola Foodmarks
• Music & Nightlife
• Restaurants & Cafes
• Los Angeles

Get us in your inbox

🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!

Singapore-Hong Kong 'travel bubble': everything you need to know

We answer all the questions about what you need to know about the new development in leisure travel being allowed between Hong Kong and Singapore

UPDATE, April 26 2021:  Brilliant news, Singapore and Hong Kong have announced the official launch date of the travel bubble. This time, the Air Travel Bubble (ATB) is slated to be launched on May 26. This comes after the ATB, initially slated to start on November 22, was postponed  on December 1 after a rise of cases in Hong Kong. 

But it's back on our radar now. Albeit, to stricter and "more cautious" measures. Naturally, you may have burning questions on your mind now – from vaccination or designated airlines. Read more to find out the updated details on the new ATB. 

November 22 2020:   A few weeks ago, Singapore and Hong Kong  reached an in-principle agreement to establish a two-way Air Travel Bubble (ATB).  This will allow travel between both cities without quarantine. There are conditions that travellers will have to adhere to, however, including testing negative for Covid-19. 

An official date has now been set: the air travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong will start on November 22. The Ministry of Transport announced that there will be one flight a day and a limit of 200 travellers – but this arrangement will increase to two flights a day into each city from December 7. 

Anyone who has stayed 14 days in either city, regardless of age and nationality, will be eligible to travel freely.  The announcement has already seen the cost of air tickets between Singapore and Hong Kong jump by about 40 per cent upon the announcement of the 'travel bubble'. 

Here's everything you need to know – and what you can and cannot do when the 'travel bubble' is established. 

For more up to date information on current regulations, you can also visit  gov.sg  or read the full statement by the Ministry of Transport here .

RECOMMENDED: A local’s guide to the best places to eat, drink, and shop in Hong Kong

An email you’ll actually love

When can we start travelling to Hong Kong?

The launch date of the  Singapore-Hong Kong air travel bubble is May 26, with one flight in each direction. However, the travel bubble will be suspended if the seven-day moving average of unlinked community cases in either city increases to above five. It can then resume when the situation has stabilised, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).

Why Hong Kong?

Singapore already has travel arrangements with a number of other territories, but none so far that allow leisure travel.  One of the main reasons why the ATB between Singapore and Hong Kong came to place is because both cities have low incidence of Covid-19 cases and have put in place robust mechanisms to manage and control them. 

"The COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong has improved, with very few local unlinked COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks. Community cases in Singapore remained very low throughout the time," said Singapore's Ministry of Transport (MOT). 

Will travellers have to be vaccinated?

Travellers will have to remain in Singapore or Hong Kong in the last 14 days prior to departure – not including any time spent in quarantine or stay-home notice. 

Hong Kong requires its residents to be fully vaccinated before departing on the flights, with some exceptions made for children and those not suitable for vaccination on medical grounds. On the other hand, there is no similar requirement for visitors from Singapore. However, they will have to download and install Hong Kong's LeaveHomeSafe app before departing Singapore. 

Are Covid-19 tests still needed?

Travellers from Singapore will have to take pre-departure and on-arrival Covid-19 swab tests and travel on designated flights operated by  Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

Those travelling will need to take a mutually recognised Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test within 72 hours before departure. If you are departing from Singapore, you will need to apply for approval for   Pre-Departure PCR Test  at least seven days before departure and will also need a confirmed flight ticket to Hong Kong to apply. Travellers will also have to take another Covid-19 test upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport.

Those departing from Hong Kong can take a PCR test at any recognised clinic or testing centre in the city.

Can I book any flight to Hong Kong?

No. Travellers will be required to go on flights dedicated for those travelling under the scheme on flights operated by Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Cathay Pacific – so as to not mix with passengers in transit even though they are heading to the same destination.

As it is, most airline companies have implemented safety measurements and social distancing rules onboard planes such as cabin crew wearing masks throughout the flight (as well as goggles or eye visors when interacting with passengers), maintaining a safe distance when queuing for toilets, more frequent cleaning of lavatories and high touch point surfaces, and more.

What flights can I take?

According to SIA, its inaugural travel bubble flight to Hong Kong, SQ882, will depart on May 26. The first flight from Hong Kong to Singapore, SQ883, will depart on May 28.

Cathay Pacific's inaugural travel bubble flight  CX759 from Hong Kong will depart on May 26 at 9.10am local time; while the first  CX734 flight from Singapore will depart on May 27 at 2.45pm local time.

Last year, Minister Ong Ye Kung said that the ATB 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". 

Is quarantine required?

Travellers to either destination will not have to quarantine upon arrival as long as they test negative for Covid-19 prior to travelling. There are also no requirements for quarantine upon arrival back to the respective home countries. 

What happens if you get Covid-19 while travelling?

The Ministry of Transport stated that travellers who get Covid-19 while in Singapore or Hong Kong will need to bear the full cost of medical treatment – subject to existing medical and healthcare policies.

Can we travel to other countries?

Singapore has implemented special travel arrangements with some countries and regions, such as China and Malaysia, to facilitate travel. However, this covers travel related to essential business-related work, taking up employment overseas, and travel related to long-term education, compassionate reasons, or otherwise. 

Hong Kong will be the only place where leisure travel is allowed, but Singapore is currently in talks with Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan and Brunei.

You can still be a tourist in our own city

The best sights and attractions in Singapore

• Attractions

The best hiking trails and spots in Singapore

• Things to do

8 abandoned places in Singapore and the stories behind them

[image] [title]

Discover Time Out original video

An email you'll actually love

• Press office
• Investor relations
• Work for Time Out
• Editorial guidelines
• Privacy notice
• Do not sell my information
• Cookie policy
• Accessibility statement
• Terms of use
• Modern slavery statement
• Manage cookies
• Sign up to newsletter
• Advertising
• Express Advertising
• Time Out Market

Time Out products

• Time Out Worldwide

Time Out magazine

• Print edition
• Digital edition

Hong Kong and Singapore to start travel bubble next month

The bubble begins May 26 and will start with a daily flight into each city, with up to 200 travellers on board.

A long-delayed travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore will begin on May 26, the two cities have said, as they move to re-establish overseas travel links and lift the hurdle of quarantine for visiting foreigners.

The bubble between two of Asia’s biggest financial hubs was slated to begin last November but was suspended after a spike in coronavirus cases in Hong Kong.

Keep reading

Australia-new zealand travel bubble to begin on april 19, hugs, tears as australia and new zealand ‘travel bubble’ starts, cruise to quarantine: passengers isolated after covid-19 case, hong kong, singapore travel bubble delayed by covid-19 surge.

The scheme will start with one flight a day into each city, with up to 200 travellers on board, Hong Kong’s commerce secretary Edward Yau and Singapore’s transport minister Ong Ye Ku said at simultaneous media events.

Those wanting to travel from either city must test negative for COVID-19 before departure and on arrival. Hong Kong residents will only be able to fly to Singapore at least 14 days after they have had two doses of the COVID vaccine.

Travellers on the route – which attracted 15 to 20 flights a day each way before coronavirus – will not have to quarantine and there will be no restrictions on the purpose of travel. However, they should not have been anywhere other than Singapore or Hong Kong in the 14 days prior to departure.

However, if the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases is more than five for either Singapore or Hong Kong, the scheme will be suspended, Yau and Ong said.

Travellers are also required to download and use the contact-tracing app of the country they are visiting. Both Hong Kong and Singapore have their own apps for this purpose.

“The re-launch … signifies that gradual resumption of cross-border travel is achievable through mutual collaborations among different places,” said Yau.

Other travel bubbles in the pipeline

For Hong Kong, which has banned non-residents since March 2020, the deal with Singapore is its first bilateral resumption of travel ties with another city.

Eligible Hong Kong residents in mainland China and Macau will be exempt from quarantine in the Asian financial city from as early as this week, Secretary for the Civil Service Patrick Nip said on Monday.

Singapore already has some agreements on essential business and official travel, has opened unilaterally to general visitors from countries including Brunei Darussalam, China and New Zealand and has been discussing an air travel bubble with Australia.

Both Hong Kong and Singapore said they are in talks with countries including New Zealand and Australia for similar travel bubbles. The Asian cities have brought the local virus situation largely under control compared with other developed cities.

New cases, however, have inched up in the past week, with Hong Kong reporting local transmission of a COVID variant with the N501Y mutated strain and Singapore investigating possible COVID reinfection cases at a migrant worker dormitory. The dormitories were at the centre of Singapore’s outbreak last year with thousands of cases.

“Both sides will need to stay very vigilant in the next one month so that we can launch the first flights smoothly,” said Singapore’s Ong.

Singapore work permit holders employed in construction, marine shipyard or process sectors, many of whom live in dormitories, are excluded from the bubble.

Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines would be the carriers for the initial flights, authorities said.

“To get this bubble up successfully, I think we’ll have a significant signalling effect to the rest of the world,” he added.

Singapore and Hong Kong's long-delayed travel bubble is finally set to launch on May 26

• Singapore and Hong Kong's long-delayed travel bubble is set to launch on May 26 , both cities announced Monday.
• Residents will be able to travel between the two cities without a quarantine.
• The bubble will start with one flight per day each way with a maximum of 200 passengers.

Singapore and Hong Kong's long-delayed travel bubble is set to launch on May 26, both cities announced on Monday.

The bubble, which was delayed from November 2020, will allow visitors to travel between both cities without having to serve a quarantine as long as they fly on designated flights and provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of departure, in line with the terms of the bubble first announced in November . Visitors will be able to travel freely with no restrictions on itineraries or where they stay.

"I am happy that Hong Kong got the COVID-19 situation under control," Singapore's Transport Minister, Ong Ye Kung, said in a press release announcing the launch of the bubble. "It has been a long few months, but the conditions are now ripe again to re-launch the ATB (air travel bubble). Both sides will need to stay very vigilant in the next one month, so that we can launch the first flights smoothly."

Related stories

In addition to a pre-departure PCR test, visitors to Hong Kong must be tested upon arrival at the airport , Hong Kong's Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development, Edward Yau, said Monday. Travelers in both directions must have not traveled anywhere other than Singapore or Hong Kong in the 14 days before their departure.

The bubble is set to start with one flight each day in each direction, with a maximum 200 passengers on each flight, the transport minister said. After two weeks, the number of flights will be reviewed. A source told Bloomberg that daily flights would be increased by June 26 as long as neither place reports a new virus outbreak. 

The Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble was set to launch in November but was postponed after Hong Kong reported a new surge in coronavirus cases. Since then, its infection rates have fallen to an average of about seven new daily cases  on average over the past week. Singapore is reporting an average of 25 new infections each day , most of which were among people already in quarantine.

The bubble set to start in May will be suspended if the seven-day average of unlinked community cases exceeds five in either Singapore or Hong Kong, according to Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority.

Both cities' borders have been largely closed to tourists for over a year, and most returning residents are required to undergo a hotel quarantine — typically for 14 days in Singapore and 21 days in Hong Kong.

Over the course of the pandemic, Singapore has reported a total of 60,966 cases and 30 deaths among its population of 5.7 million . Hong Kong, which is home to 7.5 million people , has reported 11,737 cases  and 209 deaths.

The announcement of the Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble came a week after Australia and New Zealand launched a similar bubble . On Friday, less than a week after it opened, that bubble was paused after two Australian regions entered a three-day lockdown due to a new COVID-19 case detected in the community.

Watch: An arcade in Hong Kong puts humans in the middle of its games — and it looks like a blast

• Main content

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Sweepstakes

Hong Kong and Singapore Set an Official Date for Their COVID-19 Air Travel Bubble

The plan does not require a quarantine period.

Meena Thiruvengadam is a lifelong traveler and veteran journalist who has visited more than 50 countries across six continents. Her writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal , Departures , TripSavvy , and other publications.

A new air travel bubble connecting Hong Kong and Singapore is set to begin operation Nov. 22.

The arrangement allows travelers from Hong Kong and Singapore to travel between countries without having to quarantine. Travelers will have to test negative for COVID-19 three times each time they travel: before they depart, after they arrive, and before they return.

Special daily flights will transport travelers within the bubble. Passengers outside of the bubble won’t be allowed to board the flights, which will carry a maximum 200 passengers each. The availability of daily flights is scheduled to expand to two on Dec. 7.

“Hong Kong and Singapore are similar in terms of epidemic control,” Hong Kong’s secretary for commerce and economic development Edward Yau told the Associated Press , adding that “the revival of cross-border air travel between the two places is of utmost importance.”

Hong Kong has reported 5,400 cases of COVID-19 and 108 deaths. Singapore has reported 58,000 cases and 28 deaths.

In announcing the bubble in October, Yau described it as a “milestone in our efforts to resume normalcy while fighting against the long-drawn battle of COVID-19.”

Both cities have strong systems in place to manage COVID-19, Ong Ye Kung, Singapore’s minister for transport, said in a statement last month “This has given us the confidence to mutually and progressively open our borders to each other," the statement said.

Travel bubbles have been floated as potential ways to keep travelers moving and out of quarantine in regions where COVID-19 has been contained, but only one other bubble is currently in operation, the Trans-Tasman bubble . That bubble allows New Zealand to travel to Sydney and Darwin without quarantine.

Should either Hong Kong or Singapore report a seven-day moving average of five or more untraceable COVID-19 infections, the bubble would be suspended for two weeks, the AP said.

Meena Thiruvengadam is a Travel + Leisure contributor who has visited 50 countries on six continents and 47 U.S. states. She loves historic plaques, wandering new streets, and walking on beaches. Find her on Twitter and Instagram .

Hong Kong Free Press HKFP

Hong Kong news, breaking updates – 100% Independent, impartial, non-profit

Hong Kong struggles to win back long-haul tourists amid fewer flights and travel warnings

• Click to share on X (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)

Along Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour on a March weekend, tourists armed with selfie sticks jostled for space as they took photos with the city’s famed skyline as a backdrop. Nearby, tour guides told the stories of Bruce Lee and Tony Leung, two local actors featured in the Avenue of Stars – Hong Kong’s answer to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Years ago, the chatter would likely have been a symphony of languages, from English to Korean to French and others. But on that Saturday afternoon, little else but Mandarin could be heard.

Since Hong Kong fully reopened to travellers last February after three years of strict pandemic rules, mainland Chinese visitors have largely returned to the city. Data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board shows that the number of mainland tourists in the last quarter of 2023 had recovered to around 80 per cent of the average in the five-year period between 2015 and 2019.

See also: Hong Kong needs more than free flights to bring back long-haul tourists after protests and pandemic

International tourists, however, saw a recovery of just about 60 per cent. Among them, visitors from South and Southeast Asia recorded the fastest growth. Numbers from Europe and the United States lagged behind.

In the fourth quarter of last year, the city recorded 72,035 UK tourists compared to 158,702 in the same period of 2018. The number of US visitors declined from 377,613 to 216,965 in the same period.

Allan Zeman, the chairperson of Lan Kwai Fong Group, said long-haul tourists were not coming back to Hong Kong in the same numbers because airlines had yet to restore the number of Hong Kong-bound flights to pre-pandemic levels.

“Cathay Pacific was very worried about overhead during Covid. Management decided to get rid of half the pilots,” Zeman said, referring to the Hong Kong carrier’s slashing of its workforce as strict Covid-19 rules grounded planes and halted flight routes.

According to the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, Cathay Pacific employed just under 4,000 pilots in 2019. Now, it has around 2,500.

See also: Furious pilots and a lack of trust – Why aircrew at Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific are quitting what was once a dream job

Before the pandemic, Cathay Pacific flew to 119 destinations, according to its 2019 annual report . As of the end of 2023, the airline had only around 80 places on its route map.

The drop in flight availability had driven up air fares to Hong Kong, Zeman added.

“For a UK family of four, it would cost them HK$50,000 to HK$60,000 [round-trip] to come here,” the mogul said. “So they decide go closer to home instead.”

Paul Chan, the co-founder of tour group Walk in Hong Kong, said the blame could not be pinned on Cathay Pacific alone, as long-haul flights to Hong Kong across airlines had not fully recovered in general.

“Insufficient flights and expensive airfares is a problem,” Chan said, speaking in Cantonese to HKFP.

‘Political rhetoric’

Hong Kong authorities have made winning back tourists a key policy goal. During the budget speech in February, the government announced it had allocated HK$1.1 billion to promote “mega events,” host monthly pyrotechnics and drone shows, and partner with influencers to promote Hong Kong.

In its publicity efforts, the government has sought to paint a picture of a city that remains a vibrant place to travel to and conduct business in.

But tourists today are visiting a city vastly different to what it once was. Following large-scale protests in 2019 , Beijing the following year imposed a national security law on Hong Kong, under which civil society groups have disbanded and scores of activists have been jailed.

The city has also revived a colonial-era sedition law, jailing dozens – including ordinary people – for allegedly endangering national security.

The US , Canadian and Australian authorities are among the Western governments that have issued travel advisories for Hong Kong, warning of “broad” and “arbitrary” local laws.

Following the passage of further security legislation in March, the Australian government updated its warning. “The law includes additional national security offences. You could be detained without charge for up to 16 days and denied access to a lawyer for up to 48 hours,” the advisory reads.

Zeman said he had heard of tourists asking whether Hong Kong was “safe.”

See also: Silent night: Hong Kong tourist traps are empty, locals stay home as gov’t drive to revive evening economy begins

“The media says that China is not safe and they think Hong Kong is part of China. They don’t know what One Country, Two Systems is,” he said, referring to the city’s governing framework which is intended to give Hong Kong a certain degree of autonomy.

Talk about Hong Kong “losing its freedoms” was “just political rhetoric,” Zeman said, adding that he did not think Hong Kong’s image in the eyes of international tourists as a whole had changed. But he acknowledged that geopolitics had increasingly come into the picture, and that “some people” might believe the rhetoric.

Chan, the co-founder of Walk in Hong Kong, said politics rarely came up in conversation with tourists.

“I don’t know if they care [about Hong Kong politics], but it’s not what they care the most about,” Chan said. “They are most concerned with physical safety, if it’s comfortable, and if they can do the things they want to do.”

Demand and supply

With fewer flights coming to Hong Kong, the city has seen its status as an aviation hub suffer.

In 2019, the Hong Kong International Airport was ranked 10th on a list of the world’s airport megahubs. The ranking, by data provider Official Airline Guide, took into account destinations served by the airport and scheduled seat capacity.

Last year, the city’s airport was in 37th place, surpassed by those serving other Asian cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jakarta.

Shukor Yusof, the founder of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics, said airlines had been “hesitant in their projection” of Hong Kong after the protests in 2019 and Covid-19.

He added that business travellers were a significant customer base for flights to Hong Kong. With fewer major conventions and events, there was less interest in the city, he said.

“I think [Hong Kong] has just lost its lustre,” Yusof said, adding that even without accounting for air fares, the city was an expensive destination.

March, however, proved a strong month for Hong Kong’s “mega events” push. The city hosted ComplexCon, an American pop culture festival, while Art Basel and Art Central also returned to their pre-pandemic scales.

Still, Yusof said there was some way to go. Until there was more demand for flights to Hong Kong, airlines would likely not fully reinstate routes, Yusof said.

“Airlines will fly when there is demand,” he said. “The markets don’t lie.”

Support HKFP   |   Policies & Ethics   |   Error/typo?   |   Contact Us   |   Newsletter   |  Transparency & Annual Report | Apps

Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

LATEST FROM HKFP

BREAKING: Reporters Without Borders rep. denied entry to Hong Kong, NGO says, after 6-hour detention, searches at airport

Hong Kong activist tells national security trial he never spoke to or met media mogul Jimmy Lai

Firefighters battle blaze at Hong Kong construction site for more than 24 hours

Beijing ‘does not accept criticism or pressure’ over ties with Russia, Chinese foreign ministry says

HKFP has an  impartial stance ,  transparent funding , and  balanced coverage  guided by an  Ethics Code  and  Corrections Policy . 

Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons : 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.

Support HKFP   |  Code of Ethics   |  Error/typo?   |  Contact Us   |   Newsletter   |  Annual & Transparency Report

Hillary Leung Senior Reporter

Hillary Leung is a journalist at Hong Kong Free Press, where she reports on local politics and social issues, and assists with editing. Since joining in late 2021, she has covered the Covid-19 pandemic, political court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial, and challenges faced by minority communities.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Hillary completed her undergraduate degree in journalism and sociology at the University of Hong Kong. She worked at TIME Magazine in 2019, where she wrote about Asia and overnight US news before turning her focus to the protests that began that summer. At Coconuts Hong Kong, she covered general news and wrote features, including about a Black Lives Matter march that drew controversy amid the local pro-democracy movement and two sisters who were born to a domestic worker and lived undocumented for 30 years in Hong Kong.

HKFP is a proud member of:

Latest Stories

2 suspected cocaine hauls worth HK$27 million found on Hong Kong beaches in 6 days

US warns it will hold China responsible if Russia makes gains in Ukraine, after Beijing renews Moscow support

At least 5 dead, over 30 injured after fire in Hong Kong building

Do not delay Hong Kong waste tax further, ex-environment official and expert urge government

Beijing to ‘strengthen strategic cooperation’ with Moscow, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi says

Beijing’s security law prompted Hong Kong activists to consider setting up ‘gov’t-in-exile,’ Jimmy Lai trial hears

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

features & interviews

Goodbye Music Zone: As the mid-sized Hong Kong venue closes its doors, it leaves a hole in local indie scene

Learning their red lines: Hong Kong’s drama groups struggle to set boundaries as performances are axed

In Pictures: Hong Kong book lovers bid farewell to independent store Mount Zero

Investigation: Hong Kong’s role in illegal deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil

Views expressed by opinion writers & advertisers are not necessarily shared by HKFP.

Where to find HKFP:

• HKFP Mobile Apps .
• HKFP Newsletter .
• HKFP Podcast .
• HKFP Facebook .
• HKFP Instagram .
• HKFP LinkedIn .
• HKFP Mastodon .
• HKFP Telegram .
• HKFP X/Twitter .
• HKFP YouTube .
• HKFP Apple News .
• HKFP Flipboard .
• HKFP News360 .
• HKFP Pushbullet .
• HKFP Whatsapp .

About HKFP:

• Advertise with HKFP .
• Announcements .
• Contact HKFP .
• Community Guidelines .
• Corrections Policy .
• Corrections Log .
• Documentary on HKFP .
• Freelance Charter .
• Newspaper Registration (periodical) .
• Policies, Ethics & Standards .
• Privacy, T's & C''s .
• Security Law .
• Staff Roster .

HKFP Partnerships:

Most-read stories today

About The Trust Project

The Trust Project is a collaboration among news organizations around the world. Its goal is to create strategies that fulfill journalism’s basic pledge: to serve society with a truthful, intelligent and comprehensive account of ideas and events.

Simple Flying

The hong kong – singapore travel bubble: all you need to know.

Hong Kong and Singapore have officially set a new date for their air travel bubble: May 26th. Passengers from the two cities can travel quarantine-free once the bubble is launched, subject to some conditions. However, this isn't the first time the bubble has been finalized, with the previous attempt being suspended due to rising cases. Here's what we know about the upcoming Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble.

Back in action

After two months of discussions , Hong Kong and Singapore have officially reached a new date for their much-awaited air travel bubble. The bubble will commence exactly one month from today, on 26th May, and allow travelers to move between the countries quarantine-free for the first time in over a year.

This time around, the conditions for the travel bubble look a bit different. For starters, travelers from Hong Kong will need to be fully vaccinated for at least 14 days before flying. Hong Kong has added this condition to encourage its residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Singapore does not have a vaccination requirement for its citizens to travel under the bubble.

Aside from the vaccination, other procedures for travelers remain the same. Passengers traveling from either city must test negative prior to departure and at the arrival airport. These two mutually recognized tests ensure that no infections are being carried into the cities. Once travelers meet these conditions (and download the needed contact tracing apps), they are free to visit the cities as they wish!

To be eligible for the air travel bubble, residents must be living in Hong Kong or Singapore for at least 14 days before flying. These two weeks cannot include the mandatory quarantine in either place and must be outside only. This step has been taken to combat any new variants of the virus that may have a longer incubation period.

Stay informed:  Sign up for our  daily  and  weekly  aviation news digests.

Will it happen?

Travelers in both destinations are understandably excited to begin flying once again. Due to their size, neither location has its own domestic market, limiting options for travelers and airlines alike. Moreover, Hong Kong and Singapore have some of the strictest entry and quarantine restrictions, making international travel difficult for most.

The travel bubble will be a respite for thousands of residents hoping to step out of their islands and get on planes again. However, many still remember the letdown from last November, when the bubble was delayed, and then pulled, just one day before launch .

It has taken over six months since the travel bubble was first pulled to set a new date, creating some anxiety among travelers. Sadly, there is no way to guarantee that the bubble won't be put off one more time if cases rise in either destination.

However, Hong Kong has managed to contain its fourth wave of cases after months of efforts, raising hopes that the bubble will work this time. Meanwhile, Singapore has kept cases low for months and hopefully won't pose any challenges to the bubble.

The bubble will be suspended for two weeks if the seven-day moving average rises to over five unlinked cases in either city. However, this time, the bubble will only resume once the seven-day moving average is below five for the last three days of the suspension (instead of one day previously).

Looking south

Perhaps the most befitting comparison to the Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble is the one established between Australia and New Zealand last week. The trans-Tasman bubble kicked off  on 19th April to much fanfare on both sides. Like their Asian counterparts, both countries across the Tasman Sea have managed to contain COVID-19 and keep cases low.

However, not everything has been smooth with the week-old Australia-New Zealand bubble. New cases in Perth and Peel forced the bubble to the state of Western Australia to be paused temporarily . Once cases are traced and contained in the state, travel will resume. The bubble to other Australian states remains intact.

However, any travel bubble requires trust that both governments are capable of controlling outbreaks when they emerge. So while there might be pauses, travel will eventually resume once cases are controlled.

For Hong Kong and Singapore, both cities have proven they are more than capable of crushing outbreaks when they arise. However, it is likely that the bubble will be paused at some point, despite vaccines being rolled out.

Big news for airlines

For airlines in both cities, the air travel bubble will be big news. With no domestic markets to serve, the carriers have been desperately awaiting a chance to fill up their jets once again. Expect to see airlines roll out some of their flagship aircraft on this route (though likely not the A380 ).

Singapore Airlines and Scoot have long been waiting for this travel agreement, in hopes that it will see high demand and revenues. Both carriers have taken deep losses as Singapore's borders remain closed and international travel remains negligible.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific, subsidiary HK Express, and Hong Kong Airlines have all struggled greatly due to the pandemic. The carriers were already reeling from low passenger demand and losses due to protests in 2019. The pandemic then crippled business, with flag carrier Cathay Pacific seeing passenger numbers fall to just a tiny fraction of previous levels.

For now, one month remains before the long-awaited travel bubble kicks off. A lot could change in this span of time, most critically, the epidemiological situation in either city, resulting in the bubble being pushed back again. However, with vaccines now available, there is hope that this attempt at the Hong Kong-Singapore bubble will be successful.

What do you think about the future of the Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble? Will it begin next month? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

• Reward types, points & expiry
• What card do I use for…
• Current Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses
• Credit Card Lounge Benefits
• Credit Card Airport Limo Benefits
• Credit Card Reviews
• Points Transfer Partners
• Singapore Airlines First & Business Class Seat Guide
• Singapore Airlines Book The Cook Wiki
• Singapore Airlines Wi-Fi guide
• The Milelion’s KrisFlyer Guide
• What is the value of a mile?
• Best Rate Guarantees (BRGs) for beginners
• Singapore Staycation Guide
• Trip Report Index
• Credit Cards
• For Great Justice
• General Travel
• Other Loyalty Programs
• Trip Reports

FAQ: Singapore – Hong Kong Air Travel Bubble

Long-term pass holder? Unsure about testing requirements? Concerns about insurance? Here's answers to some of the top ATB questions.

Singapore and Hong Kong have announced that the much-anticipated Air Travel Bubble (ATB) will start (or restart, depending how you view it ) on 26 May 2021.  This provides for quarantine-free travel to either city for any reason, including leisure. 

Full details: Singapore – Hong Kong ATB to resume on 26 May

There’s no doubt a lot of excitement about the prospect of leisure travel for the first time in more than a year, and I’ve already booked my seat on the inaugural flight. I’ll be publishing some trip planning articles in the coming weeks addressing flights, hotels, testing and more, so stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, here’s my attempt at answering some FAQs about the ATB arrangement. As always, refer to official sources for the most up-to-date information:

Is COVID-19 vaccination required?

Hong Kong residents traveling under the ATB must be fully-vaccinated for COVID-19, defined as 14 days after the second vaccine dose . Exceptions apply to those: 

• Aged below 16
• Not suitable for COVID-19 vaccination due to medical grounds
• With less than 90 days’ stay in Hong Kong before departure
• Using non-Hong Kong travel documents for departure

However, the vaccination requirement does not apply to Singapore residents . The reason for the discrepancy was addressed by Ong Ye Kung, Singapore’s Minister for Transport:

On why travellers from Singapore are not subject to the same requirement, Mr Ong said that this was because Singapore has had “quite a good response” to its vaccination programme which began in January this year. “As for the Hong Kong side, I suppose they wanted an extra incentive for people to get vaccinated. So they have the additional requirement,” he said. According to Bloomberg’s Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker, about 11 per cent of Hong Kong residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine so far which is less than half the rate in Singapore. “But most important is not whether you are vaccinated or not. The most important is that your partner city, country or region is a safe place…and in this case, Hong Kong is one that meets that criterion,” said Mr Ong. Source: Today Online

Do I need to be tested if I’m already vaccinated?

Yes. All travelers, regardless of vaccination status, will still be required to undergo up to four COVID-19 tests. For example, a Singapore resident should expect to do the following:

How do I book my tests?

Pre-departure in singapore.

ATB travelers can visit any MOH-approved COVID-19 PCR test provider listed here . Be sure to click on the “list of clinics approved to conduct PCR Pre-Departure Tests”,  because this is a subset of the overall list of approved clinics. 

Swab tests must be done within 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure. You will receive your results in the HealthCerts.oa format , which must be digitally endorsed via Notarise.gov.sg before travel.

Prices range from S$135-200 , and further discounts may be available to certain credit card members. Refer to this article for all the details. 

Post-arrival in Hong Kong

The post-arrival COVID-19 test in Hong Kong must be pre-booked prior to departure from Singapore. Travelers will need to create an account on the Prenetics site and make payment of HK$499 (~S$85) , which can be refunded up to 24 hours prior to appointment time. 

The booking option is not yet available; I imagine this will be updated shortly. 

Pre-departure in Hong Kong

ATB travellers can visit any approved COVID-19 PCR test facility in Hong Kong to do their pre-departure test, within 72 hours of scheduled departure time. This consists of private facilities , as well as community testing centres . The former can cost up to HK$2,000 (~S$340), while the latter cap their price at HK$240 (~S$40). 

If your return flight to Singapore is within 72 hours of the COVID-19 PCR test you did upon arrival in Hong Kong, there is no need to take another pre-departure test . Simply present the certificate you were given upon arrival at the check-in counter. 

Post-arrival in Singapore

The post-arrival COVID-19 test in Singapore must be pre-booked prior to departure from Hong Kong. Travelers can make bookings through this link , and the cost will be S$160.

Must my child be tested?

Children aged 6 or younger in the current calendar year will be excused from the following tests:

• Pre-departure test in Hong Kong
• Post-arrival test in Singapore

However, they will still be required to do the following tests:

• Pre-departure test in Singapore
• Post-arrival test in Hong Kong

As per the previous ATB arrangement, young children or infants have the option to submit stool samples for testing in Hong Kong. 

Do I need to isolate upon arrival?

In hong kong.

Passengers arriving in Hong Kong must wait until the results of their on-arrival COVID-19 test are released before leaving the airport. 

The estimated wait time is approximately 3 to 4 hours , and before you complain, that’s an improvement from the 4 to 6 hours quoted during the first iteration of the ATB.

Unlike passengers who are going into quarantine, your process is slightly different:

• Quarantine: COVID-19 test → Waiting area → Immigration → Luggage Claim → Quarantine
• ATB: COVID-19 test → Immigration → Luggage claim → Waiting area → Freedom

This means you’ll have your check-in bag with you while you wait, although it’s probably best practice to ensure any medication/electronics you need are in your hand-carry bag. 

Wi-Fi will be available, but it’s recommended you preload any media content onto your phone/tablet just in case. Bottled water will be made available upon request. 

In Singapore

Passengers arriving in Singapore will take an on-arrival COVID-19 test, then immediately proceed to their declared place of accommodation by private transportation, taxi or private hire car. They must remain isolated at the accommodation until their test results are confirmed to be negative. 

Singapore citizens, Permanent Residents and Long-Term Pass Holders may self-isolate at their place of residence, while visitors must isolate at a non-residential accommodation like a hotel. 

For those self-isolating at their place of residence,  there is no requirement to have the whole residence to yourself, even if you have family members who did not travel to Hong Kong. The requirement is that you have an individual room with an attached toilet, and avoid contact with non-traveling family members until the results are released.

So it basically follows the same SOP that would apply to anyone in Singapore who goes to a clinic with respiratory infection symptoms and does a swab test. You come straight home, self-isolate, and only go out when you get the all clear.

What kind of testing is used?

COVID-19 PCR testing in Singapore is currently done via nasal swabbing , where you tilt your head back and think of England. It’s hoped that less-invasive breathalyzer tests will soon become available, but for now, that’s the only option. 

Hong Kong, on the other hand, uses saliva specimens to test for COVID-19. Travelers gargle a special liquid, spit into a specimen bag, and submit it for testing. 

How much do flights cost?

While ATB ticket prices have skyrocketed for May, it’s still possible to find some moderately-priced options from June onwards. Of course, ticket prices can change dramatically on short notice (I fully expect June prices to rise further due to school holiday bookings), so take the figures below as a rough guide- they’re likely to get out of date fast:

Remember to use the flexible dates search feature to browse more prices at one go. I’ve only shown results till September, because Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific stop tagging ATB flights from October. 

The ATB will presumably be extended if all goes well, and there’s nothing stopping you from making a booking for, say, December right now. If/when the ATB is extended, you’ll get a notification from Singapore Airlines that your flight has been re-designated as an ATB flight. 

Is there award space?

Surprisingly, it’s still possible to find award space on the ATB route, even during the busy June school holiday period.

For Cathay Pacific, your best bet is to search for Premium Economy awards; Economy and Business Class are relatively harder to come by. 

For Singapore Airlines, it’s possible to find a smattering of Economy Saver awards in June…

…but Business Class only has Advantage space.

First Class will become available in June, as Singapore Airlines switches to a B777-300ER. However, only Advantage awards are available, and not every day. 

Here’s how much awards will cost:

KrisFlyer does not impose fuel surcharges on Singapore Airlines flights, but Asia Miles will charge S$29 of fuel surcharges for a round-trip between Singapore and Hong Kong.

Additional taxes of S$86.10 apply regardless of carrier (S$127.10 if you’re flying in Business Class or higher, thanks to a higher Airport construction Fee ).

Will the lounge be open?

Singapore Airlines passengers departing from Changi will be able to access the temporary SilverKris Lounge in Terminal 3 , which will almost certainly become the permanent KrisFlyer Gold lounge down the road. 

The SilverKris Lounge in Hong Kong is not open, but eligible passengers instead get access to the Plaza Premium Lounge. 

Cathay Pacific relocated from Changi Terminal 4 to Terminal 1 back in April 2020, which means its (very nice) Singapore lounge is also closed. Unfortunately, there is no alternative arrangement for passengers departing Singapore.

In Hong Kong, all eligible passengers have access to The Wing First Class lounge , the only lounge that Cathay Pacific is operating for now. 

Those with lounge membership cards can access:

• SATS Premier Lounge in Terminal 1
• SATS Premier Lounge in Terminal 3
• Plaza Premium Lounge near Gate 1

This may become an issue from 1 July 2021, when Plaza Premium withdraws from Priority Pass and LoungeKey. A handful of Plaza Premium lounges will remain in the network, but it’s not clear which ones specifically. 

What if I’m on a Long-Term Pass?

The ATB is open to any person, irrespective of his/her citizenship, so long as he/she has remained in Singapore and/or Hong Kong in the past 14 consecutive days prior to departure. 

This includes Long-Term Pass (LTP) holders, but they have an additional step to do: apply for re-entry approval.

Your company’s HR department or CorpPass admin will handle the application,  which can be done prior to leaving Singapore. 

It’s important to emphasize the “prior” bit, because you certainly wouldn’t fly out of Singapore not knowing if you’ll be let back in. Applications can be made up to 30 days prior to the intended date of return, and there is no need to fill out the SHN details section for ATB travelers. 

Applications submitted on weekdays before 12 p.m will get the outcome the same day, while those after 12 p.m or on weekends/public holidays will get the outcome the next working day. Once approval is received, be sure to print a copy and bring it on your trip. This will be required to check-in for the return flight, and will need to be shown at Singapore immigration. 

I can’t comment on the success rate of these applications, but most of the data points I saw from the last ATB stated that approval was fairly straightforward.  I suppose it boils down to how friendly and on-the-ball your HR department is. 

What happens if the ATB gets suspended?

The ATB will be suspended for at least 14 days if the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases (excluding dormitory resident cases in Singapore) is more than five in either Singapore or Hong Kong.

The suspension will take effect after two days (including the day on which the criteria was met) for a two-week period. That’s presumably the window for travelers on both sides of the bubble to make arrangements to return home early (remember- there’s no change fees for either SQ or CX). 

The ATB can resume on the next day when the following two criteria have been met:

• the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong and Singapore does not exceed five on the last day of the 14-day suspension period or any subsequent day; and
• after criterion (i) is met, subsequently there are three consecutive days where the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases does not exceed three in Hong Kong and Singapore, and the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local COVID-19 cases on the last day of the three consecutive days does not exceed five in both places.

Will insurance cover my trip?

The CAAS has said that travelers who contract COVID-19 will need to bear the full cost of any medical treatment, subject to prevailing medical and healthcare policies. 

There are two possible scenarios that can happen:

• You test positive for COVID-19 after returning to Singapore, in which case your regular medical insurance kicks in
• You test positive for COVID-19 while in Hong Kong, in which case your travel insurance provides coverage

Let’s look at options for the latter. 

Airline coverage

Singapore Airlines passengers can opt to purchase the airline’s travel insurance ( underwritten by AIG ), which includes coverage for COVID-19 related medical expenses and emergency evacuation. This is provided the passenger is traveling under a pre-agreed official agreement like the ATB. 

The policy covers up to S$350,000 of medical expenses and evacuation, and provides a daily allowance of up to S$200 ( S$100 for Hong Kong specifically) should you test positive for COVID-19 while overseas and be placed into mandatory quarantine. 

Alternatively, Cathay Pacific provides all passengers with free COVID-19 coverage ( underwritten by AXA ), provided their travel dates are on or before 31 May 2021 . This has the potential to be further extended, so keep an eye out. 

Overseas medical expenses are covered up to US$200,000, while evacuation is covered at actual cost. An overseas quarantine allowance of US$100 per day is also payable. 

Third-party coverage

Alternatively, travelers can opt for third-party insurance policies from the following underwriters, which explicitly cover COVID-19:

• NTUC Income

You’ll want to read the policy wording of each carefully for coverage and exclusions. 

For most Singaporeans, this will be the first real opportunity for leisure travel in more than a year, and the lack of a vaccination requirement makes it all the more accessible (although, seriously, get vaccinated as soon as you can). 

There’s just under a month to go till the inaugural ATB flight, so fingers crossed it gets off the ground this time.

• cathay pacific
• singapore airlines

Similar Articles

Hack: skip the immigration lines in kuala lumpur with priority pass, details: changi terminal 2 northern wing reopens, 17 comments.

Can’t wait for your review!

Personally, I hope there are no hiccups. I could do with a winter getaway

Will going on a cruise to nowhere as a Singaporean be considered failing to fulfil the 14 days in Singapore requirement?

that’s a very good question actually. technically you pass through immigration, but hmmm. Let me see what I can dig up.

Similarly, does travelling on ATB preclude someone from going on a cruise sailing <14 days upon returning to Singapore?

I think Aaron did cover this before, Royal Caribbean is pretty strict on this and the answer is yes if you are sailing with them. Dream Cruises could have other definitions though.

Any confirmation on this Aaron?

I reached out to the HK Tourism Board and was told that so long as you don’t set foot in another country, there is no travel history.

I do not think it is an issue, as you are technically not entering any other country. Moreover, when you try submitting the travel declaration form to certify that you did not travel anywhere else in the past 14 days, there is no option for travelling from SG to SG.

Just to clarify the 72 hours requirement… if one wishes to avoid having to do a HKG pre departure COVID test, does it mean that the maximum stay in Hong Kong is only 2 nights (not 3 nights) before returning to Singapore?

because of the current flight timings, yes.

Unless you fly out on CX and back on SQ then can stretch to 3 nights. Either way the outbound CX flight isn’t ideal as it arrives at 19:00, but the time airport COVID test result is released, it’s almost midnight!

I had a look at the HK community testing centres’ booking form and they require a HK mobile number to receive SMS messages. For those who choose to test via this method, there will be an added cost in obtaining a HK mobile SIM card just for this purpose.

Assuming a HK citizen living in SG, but going back to HK. Will he need to be subject to vaccination criteria before he return back to SG?

“With less than 90 days’ stay in Hong Kong before departure” is one of the exemptions. So unless you are staying in HK for 90 days or more, you don’t need to be vaccinated

Am I right in thinking that STVP holders cannot utilise this? As in those that were on an EP which was cancelled and they were subsequently issued with a 30 or 60 day STVP pending either a further EP issue or leaving the country?

yes, I think that’s correct (but do check with ICA if in doubt).

Thanks for the article, I’ve confirmed my first class tix in June !

CREDIT CARD SIGN UP BONUSES

Featured Deals

© Copyright 2024 The Milelion All Rights Reserved | Web Design by Enchant.sg

Will the world’s first ‘travel bubble’ actually work?

Rival financial hubs Hong Kong and Singapore are set to become the first regions in the world to open a reciprocal “air travel bubble,” after ministers from both governments announced a preliminary agreement Thursday. Under the deal, residents from either city would be able to travel to the other without undergoing quarantine—so long as they test negative for COVID-19.

“This is a milestone in our efforts to resume normalcy while fighting against the long-drawn battle of COVID-19,” Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau said . Full details of the arrangement are still being hashed out, but Yau has “every confidence” the plan can “come to fruition very soon.”

Previous “travel bubble” hopes have not lasted long.

Governments have floated the notion of opening travel bubbles since at least May —when Australia and New Zealand were mulling the idea. But the concept has so far proven too optimistic as sudden spikes in local case numbers put travel plans on hold.

At best, countries have implemented unrequited quarantine exemptions. On Friday, for example, Australia welcomed passengers from New Zealand without quarantine, but New Zealand still requires all tourists to undergo a two-week isolation.

The Kiwi nation has kept COVID-19 largely under control, with daily case numbers mostly in single digits since May.

Hong Kong and Singapore haven’t been out of the woods quite so long.

Hong Kong underwent a “third wave” in August, in which total infection numbers increased nearly fivefold. And Singapore is still practicing social distancing due to its huge spike in April that ratcheted its total caseload to over 57,000.

But Singapore Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung says that both Hong Kong and Singapore have “low incidence” of COVID-19 cases and have “robust mechanisms” to manage outbreaks. “This has given us the confidence to mutually and progressively open our borders to each other,” Ong said.

On Thursday, Singapore reported three new coronavirus cases, completing four days of single digit growth. The same day, Hong Kong reported 12 COVID-19 cases—the highest single day rise in a week. Although those numbers are low compared to many other places, Hong Kong’s hyper vigilance makes even a spike of 12 cases cause for concern.

Just last week, Secretary for Health Sophia Chan floated the idea of enforcing mandatory COVID-19 tests as some experts warned of a possible “fourth wave” of infections following a daily increase of 18 cases.

Last month the city tested close to 2 million people to counter its third wave, which experts blamed on Hong Kong’s previous quarantine exemptions. Those exemptions waived the 14-day isolation period for certain groups, such as sea and air crew members.

“I think the risk posed to Hong Kong by travelers from Singapore would be minimal,” says Hong Kong University epidemiologist Ben Cowling, citing the city’s low case numbers. “But it would still be important to arrange testing for travelers from Hong Kong or Singapore either shortly before departure, or to arrange testing on arrival.”

The travel bubble could ease financial strain on airlines and the tourism industries of both cities. Shares in Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific closed up 6% on the news on Thursday after making its biggest gains in seven weeks.

The route between Hong Kong and Singapore is normally the 17th busiest in the world, with Hong Kong tourists accounting for 3% of all visitors to Singapore last year. This year, of course, that flow came to a near halt. In Hong Kong, visits from Singapore dropped over 93% in the first eight months of 2020.

Under the preliminary agreement, travelers will be required to obtain a negative COVID-19 test from a facility recognized by both Hong Kong and Singapore governments. Airlines will also have to run dedicated routes—not allowing for transit passengers—and group tours will not be allowed.

Hong Kong’s government last month said it hoped to open travel bubbles with ten other countries, including New Zealand, Vietnam, South Korea, Germany and France.

But with social distancing measures still enforced in Hong Kong—limiting dining groups to four people, closing public beaches and cancelling public events—many of the usual tourist activities will be off-limits when travelers arrive.

Most Popular

• 0 minutes ago

Billionaire and Virgin Group founder, Richard Branson’s wealth has tumbled by more than half since 2021 to $3bn as SPAC problems gave him ‘a big jolt from the side through COVID’

Trump Media’s accounting firm has a 100% deficiency rate from U.S. audit watchdog and counts Lingerie Fighting Championships as a client

The only housing markets with fresh supply are those loaded with baby boomers who are unbothered by higher mortgage rates

Air Canada pilots land a Boeing 737 in Idaho after another in-flight emergency

America is debating whether to raise the retirement age—but boomers are already working well into their sixties and seventies

$2.3 billion hedge fund manager on his move from New York to Florida: ‘I know of no business that has generated long term success by driving away its highest paying customers’

We've detected unusual activity from your computer network

To continue, please click the box below to let us know you're not a robot.

Why did this happen?

Please make sure your browser supports JavaScript and cookies and that you are not blocking them from loading. For more information you can review our Terms of Service and Cookie Policy .

For inquiries related to this message please contact our support team and provide the reference ID below.

New Normal for the Tourism Industry in 2024: Rethinking and Relaunching

Since the beginning of 2023, Japan, Thailand, and other countries have relaxed their entry restrictions, leading to a surge in Hong Kong residents traveling abroad due to herd mentality.They flocked to Japan for shopping and indulged in hot springs. 

However, after this initial wave, the enthusiasm for outbound travel cooled down slightly, and domestic tourism gained momentum.

Will Mainland Chinese tourists no longer flock to Hong Kong? Before the pandemic, mainland Chinese tourists significantly drove local consumption, and receiving mainland tour groups was a major source of income for many jewelry, gold, and high-end dried seafood stores. 

Although the borders between the two regions have now reopened, businesses have reported that the influx of mainland Chinese tourists to Hong Kong is not as high as expected. 

According to media reports, during the recent "Golden Week" holiday, the number of mainland Chinese tourists entering Hong Kong dropped by nearly 40% compared to pre-pandemic levels. 

Additionally, the fluctuation in the exchange rate between the Chinese yuan and Hong Kong dollar has made tourists more conservative in their spending. The previous trend of lavish buying and purchasing luxury brands has diminished.

As consumer habits change, the itineraries of visitors to Hong Kong have also changed significantly. There is a rise in low-cost or free activities, such as taking photos at MTR stations, street signs, or in front of old police stations, as well as visiting Wong Tai Sin Temple and treasure hunting in Sham Shui Po. 

Mainland Chinese online platforms even provide guides on "How to Spend a Day in Hong Kong for HKD 100," reflecting that extravagant shopping tours from mainland China are no longer the mainstream.

Emphasis on attracting local visitors It is evident that the trend of Hong Kong residents traveling to mainland China for consumption has been increasing rather than decreasing in recent months, especially during holidays. 

A popular choice is a three-day-two-night trip to popular commercial districts, where people can enjoy various dining, entertainment, and recreational activities. 

For example, the "Guangzhou R&F Ski World" covers an area of approximately 75,000 square meters and offers skiing and snow activities throughout the year. They also offer skiing instructor courses and exams certified by the Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors/Canadian Ski Instructors' Alliance, attracting skiing enthusiasts of different levels. 

Consequently, there is an increased demand for private car hire services between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, providing seamless travel itineraries, accommodation arrangements, and point-to-point transportation to cater to the needs of families.

When the overall environment cannot be changed, it is crucial for the tourism industry to upgrade its services and avoid simply adjusting and relaunching outdated tour packages. It is recommended to first understand the industry trends and develop attractive services targeting the desired customer base.

There are various forms of business collaborations, and it is advisable to seek the advice of professional accountants to tailor the most ideal tax planning strategies.With the right  people and the right actions, everyone can become an expert .

WhatsApp & Wechat: (852)  5236 2580

Website:  http://www.maxi-solution.com/

Wordpress:  https://maxisolution.wordpress.com

#tourism #new normal #Japan #Thailand #herd mentality #hot spring #travel #golden week #photo taking # Guangzhou Ski #shopping tour #private car hire #CPA #tax #tax filing #tax #accounting #Maxi #limited company #unlimited company

Most popular

Stay up to date with business go.

Subscribe to our newsletter to obtain latest articles, events and offers that are tailored to you

Further reads

[business member]promote your offers on business go and get new customers😎.

• Craft and Criticism
• Fiction and Poetry
• News and Culture
• Lit Hub Radio
• Reading Lists

• Literary Criticism
• Craft and Advice
• In Conversation
• On Translation
• Short Story
• From the Novel
• Bookstores and Libraries
• Film and TV
• Art and Photography
• Freeman’s
• The Virtual Book Channel
• Behind the Mic
• Beyond the Page
• The Cosmic Library
• The Critic and Her Publics
• Emergence Magazine
• Fiction/Non/Fiction
• First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing
• Future Fables
• The History of Literature
• I’m a Writer But
• Just the Right Book
• Lit Century
• The Literary Life with Mitchell Kaplan
• New Books Network
• Tor Presents: Voyage Into Genre
• Windham-Campbell Prizes Podcast
• Write-minded
• The Best of the Decade
• Best Reviewed Books
• BookMarks Daily Giveaway
• The Daily Thrill
• CrimeReads Daily Giveaway

On Expats and the Literature of Hong Kong’s “Expat Bubble”

Aube rey lescure considers what depictions of expat culture in china miss.

A woman in a luxurious backless gown stands alone in a nighttime commercial street in Hong Kong. The woman, with light hair and pale skin, is unmistakably white. (She’s Nicole Kidman). The street, wet from recent rain and lined with Chinese shop signs, is improbably empty: of Hongkongers, of locals. In this ad for Amazon Prime’s Expats , directed by Lulu Wang, who is absent and who is spotlit casts an uncanny shadow on the Kidman-produced, multi-million dollar Amazon project, centered on Asia and made for Western audiences.

Initially, the announcement of Amazon Prime’s production of Expats met widespread derision on the Hong Kong internet. “Nobody wanted or asked for this,” said a commenter on the South China Morning Post . “Hope it shows the privileged lives expats have compared to the average locals and the inequalities brought about by colonialism,” said another . Then, in the height of the pandemic, news broke that Kidman had entered Hong Kong for filming but bypassed mandatory quarantine rules, drawing public outcry about differential treatment.

Wang defended the show on Twitter, saying she was “doing the work” to honor cultural specificities of Hong Kong by hiring Janice Y.K. Lee, author of The Expatriates , the novel on which the show is based, as well as “two HK expat writers.” A Hongkonger on Twitter asked , deadpan: “In the context of Hong Kong protests… would you consider hiring/consulting local Hongkongers?”

The discourse raised the question of whether the show would poke holes in the “expat bubble” or operate squarely within it. Perhaps the online criticism influenced Lulu Wang’s choice to premiere on the festival circuit not with the pilot but with “Central,” a feature-length episode dedicated to spotlighting domestic workers and the 2014 Umbrella protests. In the opening shot, while relentless rain batters the city, groups of Filipina women are gathered under an underpass, gossiping and eating, some singing “Roar,” the Katy Perry anthem. Then, the camera cuts to a monied English-speaking Hongkongese family stuck in traffic, obviously feeling greatly inconvenienced by the Umbrella protests blocking the city’s main arteries.

Later, the same family is browsing online for a new domestic worker: “Our last one was Filipina… maybe we should try an Indonesian or a Malaysian this time.” In other scenes, expat women meet for martinis in velvety hotel booths to discuss divorce and affairs. But the episode’s tone struck me as more self-aware than expected, such as when, in a restaurant scene, Mercy, a Korean-American young woman, says: “I love the neon sign outside. So old school.” To which the waiter retorts: “Tell that to the government. Hong Kong is dying.”

If the entire show sustained the same close lens on the multicultural, politically charged Hong Kong society where the action is set, “Expats” could have made a true statement about nationalities and privilege in the metropolis. Sadly, the 97-minute episode is a curious outlier in the series. The other episodes largely take place within the luxurious interiors of residences on the Peak, at yacht parties and lavish birthday feasts, at rooftop restaurants with expansive views, where the vast majority of the Hongkongese characters onscreen are service staff.

Perhaps skewering expatriate attitudes was never an aim of “Expats”: the show is based on a book centered on the grief provoked by a sudden loss among a group of mostly wealthy expatriate women. However, The Expatriates , by Janice Y.K. Lee, does offer moments of nuance and satire: Lee writes of “the presumption of expatriates in Hong Kong…The idea, so firmly entrenched, that they could be louder, demand more, because they were somehow above—really, better than—the locals.” It’s a more discerning take than another novel about expats in Hong Kong, Naoise Dolan’s Exciting Times (also set to be produced into a TV show by Amazon Prime), which largely neglects to turn a lens to what happens outside the sphere of expat drama.

As Xuan Juliana Wang wrote in her New York Times review of Exciting Times : “Absent the textures of a real city that is sharply divided along generational, ideological and class lines, Dolan’s novel could have taken place in any other major Asian metropolis. None of the English-speaking characters seek to venture beyond their established social circles… They barely notice the Chinese characters on street signs, let alone try to understand them.” This largely captured the attitudes of many expats I had witnessed growing up in China, attitudes I found echoed in the underlying make-up of Expats ’ characters: a failure of interest in the daily existence, struggles, and aspirations of residents of their host societies, instead navel-gazing on the dramas of their very privileged, very “exciting” lives.

When I transferred to an international school in Shanghai in ninth grade after attending Chinese public schools, I began hearing the curious tint in many expats’ utterances of the word local . “But that’s a local bar.” “Only locals go there.” “Oh my god, he’s dating a local .” It was as if anything actually Chinese, attended by Chinese people, was immediately anointed unworthy or of lesser quality. The condescension with which some expats spoke that word left me deeply unsettled. In school, ironically, we were reading A Passage to India and Empire of the Sun . It struck me that the new, multicultural Shanghai I inhabited still retained many dynamics of these colonial novels.

Since the 2000s, multinational companies have frequently used the extensive privileges of “expat packages” to incentivise non-Chinese employees to relocate to China—tuition to the best international schools, chauffeurs, domestic workers, villas in expat enclaves. This can breed a sense of suspended reality. In an interview with the South China Morning Post , Janice Y.K. Lee described the worst part of being an expat as: “​​I always felt like my ‘real life’ was on hold. I never thought I was going to live in Hong Kong forever, so I always felt like I was waiting for real life to resume.” In the show, Nicole Kidman’s character, Margaret, echoes this sentiment to her husband Clark when they discuss the “help” (childcare, drivers) they receive in Hong Kong: “This isn’t real life.” To which Clark retorts: “There’s nothing wrong with spoiling ourselves a bit. We deserve it.”

Looking back, this was at the root of my shock after witnessing attitudes held in expatriate circles: perhaps it is hard to be respectful, interested, and invested in the lives of people among whom you live when their society, culture, and political and economic realities are not part of your “real life.”

“In the novel, there was this level of charmed, ignorant lifestyle that felt so detached from the Hong Kong that I know,” a Hongkonger told me, referring to The Expatriates and its adaptation. “Hong Kong has a relatively small voice compared to a Western audience. So this story that’s supposedly about Hong Kong is going to be out there, but may not be a fair reflection of Hong Kong and who we are.”

The question of stratification and representation is one to which Lulu Wang says she gave serious consideration before signing on for “Expats.” Wang told Vanity Fair : “I was so nervous about how I was going to be able to portray Hong Kong and making sure that the bubble of the expat world was intentional, that I was examining it as opposed to just indulging in it. How do you both be in that world without celebrating it, but also not judging it either?”

I would argue that, in fact, some judgment is warranted, and that the show—and the forthcoming adaptation of “Exciting Times”—offered great opportunities to finally encourage discussion and judgment of expat culture in China. Within that bubble, along with a suspension of “real life,” a suspension of judgment about the condescension and indifference rampant in expat communities has been the norm for far too long.

“Central” is one noteworthy episode, but it is hard not to feel it is a compartmentalized effort at social critique while the rest of the show revolves around tangled webs of familial losses and betrayals, against the backdrop of hotel pools and affairs. In this larger context of the show’s sleek expat world and its insouciance, “Central” seems like a glimpse to what the show could hav e been had Lulu Wang carried the same vision and upheld the same rigor of social commentary throughout the series. But perhaps one episode is better than nothing at all; it gave me hope when the camera cut to young people protesting in Hong Kong, bracing against the riot police, or the domestic workers waiting in line at Western Union to send wages home—they are the “real life” so many expats refuse to see.

To the extent that Expats does lightly satirize expat privilege, its message will require much amplification to reach those being critiqued. Will Hong Kong expats cringe at their portrayal, or simply throw champagne and caviar watch parties at the Mandarin Oriental? We’ll see. As another Hongkonger told me, exposing ill-behaved expats is a catch-22: “The people who should hear this don’t care, and the people who have been subjected to their bad behavior already know.”

______________________________________

River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure is available now via William Morrow .

• Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Aube Rey Lescure

Previous article, next article, support lit hub..

Join our community of readers.

to the Lithub Daily

Popular posts.

Follow us on Twitter

Little Cash, Lots of Censorship: Bothayna Al-Essa on Opening a Bookstore in Kuwait

• RSS - Posts

Literary Hub

Created by Grove Atlantic and Electric Literature

Sign Up For Our Newsletters

How to Pitch Lit Hub

Advertisers: Contact Us

Privacy Policy

Support Lit Hub - Become A Member

Become a Lit Hub Supporting Member : Because Books Matter

For the past decade, Literary Hub has brought you the best of the book world for free—no paywall. But our future relies on you. In return for a donation, you’ll get an ad-free reading experience , exclusive editors’ picks, book giveaways, and our coveted Joan Didion Lit Hub tote bag . Most importantly, you’ll keep independent book coverage alive and thriving on the internet.

Become a member for as low as $5/month

• Global Elections
• TikTok Twitter Facebook
• About Careers

Hong Kong, long an economic crossroads, now faces one

Sign up for Semafor Business: The stories (& the scoops) from Wall Street. Read it now .

In this article:

Room for Disagreement

Milton Friedman called it his favorite economy, a “laboratory experiment” in freebooting capitalism. “If you want to see how the free market really works,” he said in 1980, with Victoria Harbor behind him, “this is the place to come.”

Hong Kong is now at an economic crossroads, trying to keep the take-all-comers commercialism that made it a hub for global companies and markets, while also trying to prove its political fealty to Beijing. As China tightens its political grip, Western capital and talent have been voting with their feet.

Draconian COVID-19 travel restrictions sent many expats to Singapore, where they’ve mostly stayed. In 2022, Singapore overtook Hong Kong in a closely-watched ranking of financial hubs . Companies including FedEx and Commerzbank have moved their regional headquarters out of Hong Kong. A new national security law implemented last month, which prescribes steep punishment for vaguely defined offenses, has further spooked foreigners .

The benchmark Hang Seng Index was the worst-performing major stock market in the world last year and in January dipped under 15,000 — roughly where it was when the British handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997. (Chief Executive John Lee, speaking Monday at an HSBC conference, preferred to say the Hang Seng had “consolidated.”) The city’s stock exchange, once a crown jewel of Asia, slipped behind India’s in total market value last year.

The city’s finance and information technology sectors shed some 20,000 jobs during the pandemic, sparking fears of what one Hong Kong-born entrepreneur called an “irreversible brain drain.”

A “trawl for talent,” as Lee has called new programs to replace those foreigners, has netted a homogenous haul: Two-thirds of the 85,000 visas Hong Kong issued last year went to mainland Chinese. Just 6,500 went to Westerners.

Chinese companies have moved in, too. After Uber Eats shut down its Hong Kong operations at the end of 2021, Beijing-based Meituan moved in . Chinese battery giant CATL, which isn’t state-owned but has seen its operations steered by Beijing over the years, is setting up research facilities in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s solution for its ailing stock market: Get mainlanders to invest.

Hong Kong has been written off before, Roach notes, after communist riots in the 1960s, the 1997 handover to China , the Asian financial crisis, and the SARS outbreak. The city has mostly proven its critics wrong — its relatively open borders and light touch on regulation and enforcement have been a magnet for entrepreneurs willing to look past its other shortcomings. Proximity to China, too, has been a major draw.

But the crackdown on dissent hits at the heart of those incentives; the key questions will be whether the influx of Chinese capital and talent can substitute for the global money and businesspeople that are leaving, and whether Hong Kong’s leaders will learn to wield their new powers with a lighter touch — or at least signal more clearly to the business community what is, and isn’t, out of bounds.

Fortune magazine famously ran a cover story with the headline “The Death of Hong Kong” in 1995. It’s a story that’s still ahead of its time. Hong Kong’s economy is expected to grow 2.9% next year and it still has more rich people than any other city in Asia, according to one recent study .

“While some have voiced their disappointment over what could well be short-term market volatility, others have expressed strong confidence in Hong Kong, and the abundant opportunities ahead of us,” Lee, the city’s chief executive, said in a soundbite that played on taxi radios throughout the week. He urged the 3,100 conference attendees to “work hard, play hard, and do remember: spend hard.”

Another question is whether being more tethered to China’s economy will import its problems, too. China is facing slower growth, lingering trauma from draconian Covid lockdowns, long-term population decline, and a real-estate bubble that is threatening a 2008-style bust. Foreign investment is at 30-year lows . Few economists believe China’s official economic data — an audience question here yesterday about the reliability of those numbers drew a laugh from the audience — but even they show an economy with serious problems.

“Hong Kong is caught in a vice,” said Morgan Stanley’s former head of Asia, Stephen Roach, whose column in the Financial Times declared the city all but dead. “It’s going to have an exceedingly difficult time growing with China on the skids.”

A consistent theme I heard this week was that decoupling is harder than it sounds. Trade between the U.S. and China has increased since 2020 , and that doesn’t include roundabout trade that flows through emerging Southeast Asian hubs like Vietnam and Thailand.

Niall Ferguson, the neoliberal free-market champion, pointed out that as long as networks of global trade remain resilient – and he thinks they will – then “hubs in the network of global commerce, such as Hong Kong, have a bright future, despite the vagaries of politics and geopolitics.”

Julia Leung, Hong Kong’s top securities regulator said: “Talk of doom and gloom never fails to find an audience.”

• “Well, we were wrong,” wrote Fortune in 2007, revisiting its 1995 call.

— Additional reporting by Cezary Podkul