Japan expects surge in Hong Kong tourists if city scraps hotel quarantine for overseas travellers, top envoy says
- Kenichi Okada, Japan’s consul general in the city, counting on Hongkongers to help boost country’s tourism industry
- According to Japanese consulate, 978 people from city travelled to the country in July, but figure rose to 1,027 in August
Japan is expecting a surge in Hong Kong tourists if the city scraps its hotel quarantine for overseas arrivals, an envoy from the country has said, adding that there is already a noticeable boom in visa applications following the introduction of the “3+4” travel scheme.
Kenichi Okada, Japan’s consul general in the city, was counting on Hongkongers, who have long considered the East Asian nation to be a top travel destination, to help boost the country’s tourism industry after it relaxed some of its border control measures this month.
Japan’s government on Thursday announced that it would allow visa-free travel for individual tourists from October 11 onwards.
“When we look at the number of [travel] visas we issued for Hong Kong people, there’s a huge increase after the introduction of the ‘3+4’ scheme. If it becomes ‘0+7’, the increase will be even bigger,” Okada said on Thursday at a press conference, referring to the city’s travel arrangements.
Under the city’s relaxed Covid-19 entry rules for overseas travellers, all arrivals are required to undergo three days of hotel quarantine, followed by four days of home surveillance where citywide movement is limited. Officials are next week expected to announce the end of hotel quarantine and replace it with seven days of home surveillance.