Going to Hong Kong? Get ready for a barrage of Covid tests

Travelers headed to Hong Kong nary longer request to quarantine successful a edifice upon arrival.

But they volition person to taxable to a barrage of Covid tests.

They tin spell to work, instrumentality nationalist proscription and spell to supermarkets, but for the first 3 days, travelers can't spell into "high-risk premises" specified arsenic restaurants, bars and gyms.

Visitors who program an eight-day travel indispensable instrumentality 12 tests — 4 PCR and 8 accelerated antigen tests — which averages to 1.5 tests per day.

Moreover, those who trial affirmative must isolate successful a assemblage facility for astatine slightest a week.

Still, the relaxed rules are invited quality to the city's residents, who person endured edifice quarantine restrictions of up to 3 weeks astatine assorted points during the pandemic.

The quality came the time aft Hong Kong mislaid its No. 3 ranking connected the The Global Financial Centres Index, ceding its presumption to Singapore, which climbed 3 places — surpassing Hong Kong and Shanghai — to go Asia's apical fiscal center.

The new rules, effectual Monday, necessitate that earlier departing, travelers must:

• Test antagonistic via a self-administered accelerated antigen test
• Report the trial effect successful an online wellness declaration
• Obtain a wellness declaration QR codification to beryllium presented earlier departing and upon arrival
• Be vaccinated to enter, oregon person a aesculapian exemption certificate (if a non-resident and aged 12 oregon older)

After arriving, travelers must:

• Take a PCR trial astatine the airport, past again connected days 2, 4 and 6 (the accomplishment day is time 0)
• Take regular accelerated antigen tests from days 1 to 7
• Submit to 3 days of aesculapian surveillance, during which clip they indispensable debar places similar restaurants, nightclubs and salons
• Follow a four-day self-monitoring period

Friday's announcement spurred a surge of outbound formation interest, according to the question booking institution Expedia.

Flight searches from Hong Kong to Japan saw a 10-fold summation successful the 3 days pursuing the announcement, compared to the week prior, portion formation searches to Taiwan saw a 12-fold summation during the aforesaid clip period, according to Expedia.

The apical formation searches by Hong Kong travelers connected Expedia implicit the play were to:

1. Osaka, Japan 
2. Tokyo, Japan 
3. Seoul, South Korea
4. Bangkok, Thailand 
5. Sapporo, Japan 
6. Taipei, Taiwan 
7. Taichung, Taiwan 
8. Singapore 
9. Fukuoka, Japan 
10. London, United Kingdom  

However, question involvement to Hong Kong was overmuch much tepid.

Expedia's hunt information for accommodations successful Hong Kong accrued 50% implicit the weekend, compared to the week earlier the announcement.

Interest successful going to Hong Kong wasn't dominated by determination travelers either. The United Kingdom, Canada and the United States were the apical inbound markets, according to Expedia's formation hunt data.

Pang Yiu-kai, president of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, acknowledged connected Tuesday that the eased rules are "expected to initially pull chiefly concern travelers, household visitors and returning Hong Kong residents."

Scrapping edifice quarantines is simply a "step forward," said Joseph Armas, enforcement manager of Hong Kong's American Chamber of Commerce.

But to truly boost the city's tourism and hospitality sector, Armas said the remaining regulations request to beryllium removed.

Japan is simply a caller illustration of a rule-laden reopening strategy that drew acold less tourists than expected.

Japan announced Thursday travelers would beryllium allowed to question freely done the state starting Oct. 11, ending restrictions that were said to beryllium confusing travelers the most. That aforesaid day, formation searches to Japan astir doubled, according to Expedia's data.

Regina Ip, convenor of the Hong Kong Executive Council, said the "next logical step" for Hong Kong is to region the 3 days of aesculapian supervision that prohibits travelers from eating successful restaurants.

Ip said she expects measures to beryllium further relaxed adjacent period aft Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee delivers his argumentation code connected Oct. 19.

The easing of Covid-19 measures successful Hong Kong spurred anticipation among residents of China that they could soon spot relaxed rules arsenic well.

China's borders person been unopen since March of 2020, arsenic the pandemic dispersed globally.

Currently, travelers entering the state indispensable quarantine astatine a centralized installation — specified arsenic a edifice — for 7 days, followed by an further 3 days astatine location earlier going out.

"Many of the businesses and residents successful Hong Kong trust connected the mainland, and that question backmost and distant is captious to their businesses," Armas told CNBC's "Squawkbox Asia" connected Monday.

Although it seems similar there's airy astatine the extremity of the tunnel, China is improbable to spot "significant easing" of Covid measures until adjacent spring, said Andrew Tilton, main Asia-Pacific economist astatine Goldman Sachs.

The aged successful China inactive request "a circular of booster shots" and the authorities would privation to guarantee it has capable medication, should different Covid question hap aft the state reopens, helium said.

"China is simply a large country. We are lone 1 metropolis ... I'm not definite our attack could beryllium applied to the full country," said Ip.

There could beryllium immoderate bully quality for residents successful China though.

After astir 3 years, Macao is acceptable to reopen its borders to travelers from China successful the coming weeks, Reuters reported.

The world's largest gambling hub has been severely deed by China's zero-Covid policy, arsenic its "main lawsuit flows" travel from the mainland, said Matthew Ossolinski, president of Ossolinski Holdings. When borders betwixt China and Macao reopen, "it'll beryllium absorbing to spot if there's a stampede oregon a trickle, but there's an tremendous magnitude of pent-up demand," helium added.