‘Not worth the hassle’: Hong Kong residents return from summer holidays with tales of pandemic stress, anxiety, increased costs

Some who travelled despite Covid-19 uncertainties scrambled for flights, quarantine hotel rooms

Changing rules resulting from Hong Kong’s ‘zero-infections’ strategy a big headache for travellers

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Inbound travellers arrive at Hong Kong International Airport in early September. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 7:07pm, 12 Sep 2021Updated: 10:46pm, 12 Sep 2021

US citizen Michael Chu went ahead with his summer holiday to New York, knowing there was a possibility that Hong Kong’s Covid-19 pandemic rules for travellers could change at any time.

Back in the city with his girlfriend after a stressful return journey and spending more than he bargained for, he said: “It definitely wasn’t worth it.”

Hongkonger Annie Tam* went on holiday to Britain and France with her British husband and their two young daughters.

Their ordeal began when her husband, who was vaccinated, tested positive for Covid-19 in Paris, and again after the family returned to Hong Kong, landing all four in quarantine for 20 days.

“It feels like everything that could go wrong went wrong, and I’m not sure I’ve got the mental strength to go through that again,” she said.

Teacher Gemma Cauchi left Hong Kong to see her family in Britain, but spent much of the time on edge amid the rules changes. Photo: Handout

They are among the Hong Kong residents who went ahead with summer holiday plans despite the pandemic, only to return with woeful travel tales of anxiety, stress, added costs, and a scramble to book flights and rooms in quarantine hotels.