As Singaporeans in Hong Kong eye visits home, city state’s residents feel pull of Japan and Taiwan

Muted reaction in Singapore as some residents opt to wait for Hong Kong to become ‘restriction-free’ before visiting, say city has lost its appeal
Hong Kong’s gradual reopening will level playing field, but there is still room for Singapore to consolidate status as financial hub, analysts note

Singapore

Dewey Simin SingaporeandKimberly Lim

Published: 6:30pm, 26 Sep 2022

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The end of Hong Kong’s mandatory hotel quarantine for travellers has brought some cheer and relief to Singaporeans in the city, with many eyeing visits back, but reactions in their home country are more muted.

For Harie Herman, a Singaporean who has lived in Hong Kong for more than four years, the refreshed rules meant he could more freely visit his family in the city state. He had only been back home once since 2019, given the high fees and inconvenience tied to Hong Kong’s quarantine hotels.

“Travelling back more often would definitely be an option but travels everywhere else would also be on my to-do list,” the 36-year-old said. “[The new measures] have given Hong Kong residents a lot of excitement of finally being able to travel.”

Hong Kong has dropped Covid hotel quarantine: how did it get to this point?

Before the pandemic and Hong Kong’s 2019 political turmoil, there were an estimated 15,000 Singaporeans living in the city – making it home to one of the republic’s largest overseas communities.

Long seen as Hong Kong’s main rival city when it comes to being Asia’s pre-eminent air transport and finance hub, Singapore has embraced a “living with Covid” policy, with most pandemic curbs lifted in April.

For now, Singapore civil servant Lee Hui En said she found Hong Kong’s guidelines “confusing”. The 26-year-old would rather wait for restrictions to ease further before visiting the city, especially when there were other alternatives in the region for a holiday.

“I will definitely be enticed to visit Hong Kong if it removes more measures as it will be more convenient for us to travel around with ease,” she said. “I’m not in a hurry to go, anyway.”

Similarly, Teo Wen Xin, a 24-year-old fresh graduate, did not find the relaxed measures particularly attractive. In Singapore, the development in Hong Kong has been overshadowed by similar moves by Taiwan and Japan – typical hotspots for Singaporean tourists – in the past week.

Taiwan on Thursday said it would fully reopen its borders from October 13, with travellers made to self-monitor for seven days upon arrival. Japan, meanwhile, will from October 11 allow fully vaccinated tourists to enter without visas or an earlier-mandated travel agency booking.

Teo said Japan was one of her favourite destinations before the pandemic as it offered a variety of activities and attractions. If Hong Kong was “restriction-free”, she would have planned a short visit to the city.

Kaohsiung City and harbour. Taiwan has said it will fully reopen its borders from October 13. Photo: Shutterstock

When Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu was asked on Friday whether the new rules might still be too weak in attracting foreign tourists, he said initiatives needed to be rolled out in an orderly and gradual manner.

Some Singaporeans say Hong Kong still has a long way to go before the city joins the rest of the world in opening up.

Herman, the Singapore national based in Hong Kong, said what stood out for him during his recent visit home was how mask-wearing was no longer mandated in most public spaces, which he described as “pretty freeing”.

“Being able to dine at restaurants and enter commercial establishments without having to check in through tracking apps is also refreshing and definitely reminds me of the old days before Covid-19,” he said.

People have breakfast at the Tiong Bahru Market in Singapore, where mask-wearing is no longer mandated in most public spaces. Photo: Bloomberg

Singapore in April scrapped the use of its TraceTogether contact-tracing app as part of its reopening plans but in Hong Kong, residents are still required to use the “Leave Home Safe” app.

One Singaporean, who wanted to be known as Yeo, felt that Hong Kong could have remained competitive as a tourist and financial hub if it had opened up earlier. He noted there was little excitement among his friends following the Friday announcement.

“It’s very apparent,” said Yeo, who works in the tourism industry. “Hong Kong has lost its attractiveness.”

Joggers at Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui promenade. Photo: Nora Tam

Song Seng Wun, economist at CIMB Private Banking, suggested Hong Kong authorities could have realised the financial toll of not opening up and decided to put the economy on a more stable footing.

Over the past two years, there has reportedly been a steady exodus of Hongkongers and expatriates, alongside global companies, largely driven by the city’s harsh pandemic measures.

Meanwhile, regional rivals such as Singapore have been taking advantage of their stable Covid-19 situations to attract talent and large-scale events.

“Obviously [Hong Kong] sees that the loss of talent is one economic cost,” he said.

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Lloyd Chan, senior economist at Oxford Economics, said Hong Kong’s move signalled the city would continue to reopen, reconnect and regain its competitiveness as a global financial hub.

“We expect the easing of border restrictions will remove a significant hurdle for the city to attract and compete for talent,” he said. “It will certainly level the playing field once again.”

Song said he was optimistic banks would soon realise Hong Kong’s importance when financial activity there picked up again. Then, there would be a corresponding influx of talent.

But this did not necessarily mean room for Singapore to consolidate its status as a regional financial hub had narrowed, Chan said. Both cities have their strengths, with Hong Kong acting as a gateway to China and Singapore serving Southeast Asia.

“Competition will remain between Singapore and Hong Kong but they also complement each other,” Song added. “There is room for both cities.”