Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble seen as ‘calculated gamble’ but needed remedy for cabin fever
- Public health expert says risk of contracting virus must be balanced with potential economic benefits
- Both economies stand to gain, with Singapore benefiting from ‘revenge spending’ by Hongkongers in Orchard Road shopping district
Lim, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said the risk of either economy importing the virus could occur through such a bubble, but that the possibility must be balanced with the economic benefits of restarting travel and connectivity.
Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious diseases expert at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, described the travel bubble as a “calculated gamble”, but added that the current environment was ripe for such a plan and that its success was a matter of putting the right virus-detection procedures in place.
Song Seng Wun, an economist at CIMB Private Banking, said it was unlikely that a bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong would “move the needle that much” in terms of economic gains, but that vulnerable industries such as aviation and leisure travel, which he said were likely to face long-term economic scarring, would gain a much-needed lifeline.
“We don’t know when we will ever get back to the 1.6 million tourists a month, but we still need to take that calibrated approach to opening up to help some of those businesses at least get on that road to recovery even though it’s extremely bumpy,” Song said, referring to the average monthly number of tourists who entered Singapore before the pandemic struck.