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Following Taiwan's reopening of its borders to the first international groups last month, the authorities announced that Hong Kong visitors could travel in groups starting from Monday, but it failed to satisfy many who have been looking forward to visiting the island. Travellers must travel in groups of five to 40 people through a Taiwan-approved travel agency and can stay on the island for a maximum of 15 days. Visitors are no longer required to undergo PCR testing or quarantine upon entry. They must obtain a negative result of a rapid antigen test result within two days of arrival and monitor themselves for a week. Taiwan has always been one of the popular tourist destinations for Hong Kong people. Due to COVID-19, Taiwan authorities have imposed border controls for two and a half years. Man Tak-ming, 74, managing director of Maywood Travel, who has organised Taiwan travel groups for 40 years, believes the new policy helps attract Hongkongers to visit Taiwan. “Hongkongers love to spend their weekend holidays in Taiwan, as the flight only takes an hour to get there, and airfare and accommodation are not expensive,” Man said. Chung Chi-kan, 67, managing director of Globair Limited, said the ease of border control would “definitely” benefit the local tourism industry, but the flight capacity should be complementary with the reopening of borders. “The airline companies should offer more flight and seat supplies to cope with the surge of tourists after the reopening of borders, while the amount of the flight capacity has not yet returned to the pre-Covid level,” Chung said. However, many Hongkongers prefer to arrange their own travel to Taiwan rather than join a tour group. Eunice Leung, 50, welcomed the policy but suggested that self-guided tours would be more attractive. She is looking forward to bringing her …

Freelancer Chan Pui-leung began to make his travel plans for Hong Kong after the government relaxed the mandatory quarantine requirement to “0+3” in late September, which means that inbound travellers no longer required to spend three days in isolation at a designated hotel and an additional four days at home for medical monitoring. Instead, they only need to undergo a three-day medical surveillance at home. “It is more convenient because it is more flexible to schedule returns and outbound travel,” the 29-year-old said. Hong Kong's tourism industry has been hit hard for more than two years by the city's adoption of one of the world's most stringent covid-19 policies for inbound visitors, such as hotel isolation, PCR testing and social distancing. Hongkongers who want to travel are also restricted by the policy. According to the Census and Statistics Department, the number of visitors to Hong Kong in 2021 dropped by 99.8 percent compared to pre-Covid-19 figures. Chan, who is staying in Japan, said he postponed his return to Hong Kong when the "3+4" scheme took effect. “The ‘3+4’ policy was not very practical and cost the public a lot of money. ‘0+3’ is more acceptable to locals, but it is still very inconvenient for foreign visitors and international business,” Chan said. However, Chan added that the restraints on the vaccine pass, which limits travelers movement in the first three days, remain off-putting. According to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, the relaxation of isolation requirements came after a steady decline in Covid-19 infections, signaling a return to a bustling city environment. “We made this decision after we took factors such as livelihoods, economic activities, Hong Kong’s competitiveness, convenience for arrivals into account, as well as striking a balance between various needs,” he said. Overseas arrivals are now only required to take …