Coronavirus: Hong Thai Travel temporarily closes down branches until Hong Kong fully reopens to the world
- One of city’s oldest and largest travel agencies announces temporary closures of main office and all branches, citing difficulties resuming full operations
- But city leader John Lee last week indicated full reopening of Hong Kong to mainland China and rest of world was unlikely to happen soon
Hong Thai Travel Services, one of the city’s oldest and largest travel agencies, has temporarily closed all its branches to minimise operating costs until Hong Kong fully reopens its borders to mainland China and the rest of the world.
In a statement on Wednesday, the company said operating over the past two years was like entering a “dark tunnel” that had no way out in sight, with its tour guides and other employees earning no income and being forced to turn to other industries for work or take up part-time jobs.
“The company hopes to save costs and temporarily operate at minimal cost to reserve its strength until the full reopening of the borders,” Hong Thai said, with its main office and frontline branches to cease operations for the present.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu last week indicated that a full reopening of the border with the mainland or further relaxation of Hong Kong’s entry regime was unlikely to happen soon.
A check of Hong Thai’s website by the Post showed all of its four branches in Hong Kong, in addition to the two in Shenzhen and Macau, had temporarily closed.