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Letters | Hong Kong’s 500,000 airline ticket giveaway sends the wrong message
- Readers discuss Hong Kong’s attempts to attract tourists, the cost of the airline ticket giveaway, how the money earmarked for the scheme could be better used, and why Singapore is more appealing to tourists than Hong Kong
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The government’s recent decision to replace mandatory hotel quarantine with “0+3” and “test-and-go” processes was a step in the right direction. However, the recent arrival figures speak for themselves: all this did was invite Hong Kong residents to return home without needing to bear the cost of a ridiculous hotel stay. At best, it also brought to the city a few relatives of our residents’ longing for family reunions.
The world continues to view our Covid-19 landscape as one filled with uncertainty and excessive compliance procedures (a total of 11 tests upon arrival), coupled with inconsistent and inconclusive messages from health officials and the press. Add to this Hong Kong being one of the last holdouts against lifting the mask mandate, and our city’s welcome sign is clearly not yet out. Rather, Hong Kong is viewed as a troublesome destination that is not ready to resume normality and recognise that Covid-19 is here to stay.
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The global view is that masks and excessive testing and tracking do not align with tourists or business travellers’ ideas of a destination of choice. The proposed government programme to fund 500,000 airline tickets for business travellers further exacerbates the global view that we need to buy the return of travellers. This scheme may only result in opportunists taking advantage of such offers, without creating a sustainable change in global perceptions.
A much better use of funds would be to subsidise airline landing fees to encourage the rebuilding of flight schedules. None of this can be successful without a clear focus on eliminating all the troublesome requirements for arrivals, as well as an aligned message by the government that we are open for business and tourists.
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If we expect life and our economy to resume normalcy, we must stop taking baby steps, eliminate the mask mandate and excessive testing, and focus on sending a message to the world that travellers are welcome.
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