More details came to light after senior government officials were said to have reached a consensus at a meeting on Monday to scrap the three days of hotel quarantine for overseas arrivals and replace it with seven days of home surveillance, dubbed the “0+7” plan.

But sources said an official announcement could only be made after they resolved some sticking points and the necessary preparations were carried out.

Coronavirus: Hong Kong may announce this month end to dreaded hotel quarantine

Visitors are at present given an amber code on the government’s risk exposure “Leave Home Safe” app after hotel quarantine.

But they are still barred from entering a variety of public places, including pubs and restaurants, museums, gyms and beauty salons.

One government source, however, said the list of no-go places for visitors under a future “0+7” scheme could be modified, such as granting visitors access to mask-wearing venues, including museums and amusement parks.

But he conceded that the measure might not be a major shot in the arm for the tourism industry.

“Tourists will be unlikely to come to Hong Kong if there are still lots of restrictions,” the source said. “The ‘0+7’ plan might only help outbound tourism, but is unlikely to make significant improvements to inbound tourism.”

A bigger struggle for the government is whether visitors to Hong Kong should be allowed to dine in at restaurants, against a backdrop of intense lobbying by the sector.

“Not only tourists, but businessmen also need to be able to attend social gatherings at restaurants and bars when they are in town,” a second source said. “But health authorities need to consider a lot of factors, given the high-risk nature of mask-off activities.”

The government was also said to be considering an end to pre-departure coronavirus tests or reducing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests arrivals are required to take. They have to undergo six PCR tests plus daily rapid antigen tests at present.

“The pre-departure tests could be scrapped, if the arrival tests are there. Some other places only require tourists to do two to three tests in total,” another source said, but added that the administration was reviewing the entire process.

Government bureaus were also busy dealing with the logistics as they needed to communicate with the tourism, aviation and transport sectors on increasing the number of flights and ground transport, as well as the roster of hotels available to take travellers.

An insider explained the government was in no rush to announce rule changes as it took time to notify the industry and arrange flights as some airlines had stopped flying to Hong Kong because of its tough Covid-19 rules.

The source added the government also needed to plan ahead on whether there should be designated transport for arrivals.

Allan Zeman of hospitality and property organisation the Lan Kwai Fong Group supported the introduction of a “0+7” arrangement, but appealed to officials to give tourists access to restaurants and bars.

“I really feel it’s very important to really open up and get tourism back, which is sorely needed. In turn this will help the businesses and the economy,” he said. “Tourists will not choose to come if we do not allow them to get into restaurants.”

Business sector lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, who also sits on the Executive Council, a key decision-making body, said he backed an end to hotel quarantine, but that any relaxation of the rules had to be gradual.

“Visiting museums and amusement parks is less risky. Designated areas could also be set up for tourists to eat if they go to exhibitions in museums,” Lam said, speaking in a personal capacity.

He added that he understood that the authorities might want to be more cautious about mask-off activities.

Lam said he hoped the government would also shorten the surveillance period in stages from seven to three days.

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Simon Wong Kit-lung, chairman of the Quality Tourism Services Association, said the industry’s target was for Hong Kong to return to normal without the need to undergo quarantine and medical surveillance.

“Even if the government goes for a ‘0+7’ medical surveillance model, it won’t help the city’s tourism-related sectors such as catering and retail. Tourists will still be put off by one week of medical surveillance which forbids them to dine out,” he said.

“If travellers can’t dine out or have a night out for a week, why would they bother to come to Hong Kong?

“The measure will only encourage more Hongkongers to go travelling, but it won’t help local consumption or attract tourists to come to Hong Kong.”

Dr Leung Chi-chiu, a respiratory medicine specialist, said a “gradual, staggered approach to reopening” could see inbound travellers being allowed to move around in the city as freely as residents in the next stage.

“As long as there is no increase in severe case numbers, and no sharp rise in imported infections, travellers would carry the same risk as residents and there should be no discrimination in terms of their freedoms to move around here,” Leung said.

Additional reporting by Cannix Yau and Victor Ting