After opening its border gradually to international travellers since January this year, Indonesia has started to see the return of international visitors in the past few months.
Hong Kong SAR
After more than two years of mandatory quarantine of all inbound travellers, Hong Kong finally announced the ‘0+3’ policy in late September despite 3-day medical surveillance with at least 4 PCR tests and daily RATs for a week.
Additionally, medical surveillance would limit visitors’ activities, and places such as bars and restaurants are not allowed to enter. The relaxing measures are in place to get prepared for the upcoming international events in November, including the banking summit hosted by Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on November 2 and Hong Kong Sevens from November 4 to 6.
While the new measures would increase both inbound and outbound travel, it is likely to take months to see stable growth of visitors and flights. To boost the recovery of tourism, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) said it would give away 500,000 airline tickets worth HKD2 billion (USD254.8 million). However, major airlines are struggling to schedule flights back to the level of the pandemic, and the free tickets are going to be distributed next year once the flights are confirmed.
Indonesia
After opening its border gradually to international travellers since January this year, Indonesia has started to see the return of international visitors in the past few months. The number of visitor arrivals reached 510,200 in August, the highest since reopening, and year-to-date August data shows 1.73 million visitors in 2022, doubling the figure in 2021.
The Ministry sets an annual target between 1.8 and 3.6 million for 2022 and 3.5-7.4 million for 2023. Despite the economic recession globally, the Ministry is optimistic about international tourism in Indonesia.
With a population of more than 270 million, the country also relies on domestic travellers. Additionally, despite the absence of Chinese tourists, the Ministry maps out five main markets for Indonesian tourism, namely Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, India, and the UK.
With the resumption of flights and return of travellers, the government hopes to see the investment on hospitality and tourism industries increase at the same time. The Ministry targeted US$6-8 billion investment in priority destinations, special economic zones, and sustainable tourism destinations across the country.
Vietnam
The recovery of Vietnamese tourism, on the other hand, seems to slow down, despite the optimistic outlook shared by the Ministry. As of the end of September, the country has received 1.87 million international visitors, only 37% of its 5-million goal for the year.
The industry worries the strict visa policy would hinder a substantial recovery in the long term. At this moment, Vietnam provides a visa-waiving program to citizens from 24 countries, and most travellers still require to apply for an e-visa for a 30-day single entry.
The tourism industry is hoping to see more international visitors during the year-end holiday season, especially from long-haul markets. Popular destinations are slowly picking up after the number of international flights increased. For example, a healthy growth of Indian tourists has been observed since the launch of direct flights between Phu Quoc and India.
Meanwhile, the industry is also eyeing the revival of key markets, including Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, after the governments further eased travel restrictions at the year's end.
Reopening Status in Asia Pacific
On top of the reopening of Hong Kong SAR, more countries and regions announced plans to reopen its border.
Japan lifted the restrictions on quotations and visas on October 11, and visa-free entry agreements are valid for eligible travellers as well.
Taiwan announced that ‘0+7’ would be effective starting from October 13, ending the mandatory isolation for all inbound travellers. While regular testing is required, visitors are allowed to take public transportation and dine in restaurants with negative RAT results.
On the other hand, the mandatory quarantine in China and Macau SAR still remains for most inbound travellers, and there are no plans to relax the measurements announced.
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