Japan reopens to visitors on June 10, but Hong Kong travellers may have to delay departure, with visa applications up in the air
- All visitors must apply for a visa to enter Japan, but time needed for processing remains uncertain
- Visitors from Hong Kong not required to be vaccinated against Covid-19, undergo testing or quarantine upon arrival in the country
The much-awaited resumption of leisure travel to Japan is set for Friday, but most tourists booked through travel agents in Hong Kong will not take off until at least a week later due to uncertainty over visa applications.
Package tours organised by companies such as Wing On and WWPKG would not depart until June 24, while EGL Tours had pushed back its departure date from June 11 to June 15, the Post learned on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Japan tourism authorities revealed guidelines that visitors must abide by while in the country. Among the updated measures was a requirement by the Japanese government for tourists to wear masks and purchase insurance to cover any medical expenses.
If their clients become infected with Covid-19, tour agencies must send them to medical institutions in the country.
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All tourists must apply for a visa to enter Japan starting from Friday, but it remains uncertain how long applications take to process, and how many people are allowed in a tour group.
Steve Huen Kwok-chuen, chief executive of EGL Tours, is hoping the company’s first Japan tour under this new arrangement will begin on June 15 with six clients, instead of on June 11 previously.
“Japanese visa applications were quite fast before Covid-19 … So will [the time needed for processing] be like last time? If that’s the case, we can have tours on time. But if it’s not like last time and the process takes a week, then we have no choice but to adjust departure dates,” he said.
“We haven’t done this before so we won’t know what will happen, but we will do our best.”
A seven-day tour excluding quarantine costs almost HK$29,000 (US$3,695), and the company has already begun accepting payments for these trips from at least 10 customers.
Japan has long been a favoured travel destination for Hongkongers, and tour agencies were quick to roll out various travel products to the country after its government said tourists from nearly 100 other jurisdictions would be allowed to enter quarantine-free on a package tour basis from June 10.
Hong Kong is placed on the blue list, meaning travellers are not required to be vaccinated against Covid-19, undergo testing or quarantine upon arrival. But Hongkongers must still complete a seven-day compulsory quarantine upon returning, as well as take various tests for the coronavirus.
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Huen said his company would take care of mandatory insurance matters for customers, adding that they would send clients to a hospital in Japan if they became infected and would “take care” of them even if they tested positive after returning to Hong Kong.
“For others traveling within our groups, if they are fine or not in close contact [with an infected traveller], then they can continue touring,” he added.
Yuen Chun-ning, executive director of local tour agency WWPKG, said he was not worried about delays affecting the company’s first trip on June 24, which costs HK$22,888 per person.
“If the approval process won’t take over seven working days, our first tour can still depart according to plan,” he said.
A representative from Wing On Travel also announced the agency’s own internal measures to comply with the latest regulations.
They include conducting rapid antigen tests daily, keeping tour bus occupancy rates to 70 per cent and allowing only friends and relatives to sit together when dining.
An extra payment would be charged for travel insurance, which would cover any issues caused by Covid-19, the representative added.
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But Gloria Choi, managing director of Pak Shing Travel, expressed reservations about promoting these tours to her clients due to the uncertainties.
“Some agents said they will have tours in June, but I believe they are likely to be postponed. Yet, they are still advertising this. If your customer sees such advertisements and you tell them the tours will be postponed, won’t they be disappointed?” she said.
Choi added that her agency has been clearly explaining the risks involved should travellers embark on the tours, leading some clients to decide against them.
The Consumer Council has urged travellers to be wary before committing to package tours with uncertain departure dates, relevant rescheduling and refund arrangements, especially those that involve high-value prepayment transactions.
Consumers can check if their travel agent of choice is licensed by browsing the “directory of licensed travel agents” of the Travel Agents Registry or the website of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong for more information.
Before putting down a deposit for a package tour, consumers are advised to make detailed inquiries with the travel agent about contingency plans should there be delayed travel. These include arrangements for refund and change of tour dates, air tickets, itineraries, surcharges and insurance.
“Do not entirely rely on the agent’s verbal promises. Retain all relevant records and important information such as promotional flyers, quotations, contracts or receipts, to be used as evidence and for follow-up in case of future disputes,” a representative of the council added.
Some Hongkongers were hesitant to join the tour packages.
“It’s simply not worth it,” retired housewife Josie Hui, 58, said.
“For a seven-day trip, you go there and have fun for seven days, you come back and are put into quarantine for seven days, which is quite displeasing. You can see the continued high numbers of Covid-19 cases daily in Japan as well. What if someone from your tour got infected during the trip? The medical support and treatments are not very clearly explained to the public now.”
According to data from the Japanese National Tourism Organisation, Hongkongers accounted for 7.1 per cent of the 31.8 million visitors logged in 2019.
Additional reporting by Chester Wong and Angel Woo
