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Aside from Taiwan, authorities are also eyeing Brunei, China, New Zealand and Australia as other possible air travel bubbles.
While they welcome the Hong Kong Singapore air travel bubble, some attraction operators and hoteliers in Singapore do not expect the revived air travel bubble to provide the boost needed to ride out the pandemic, reported TODAY.
However, they hope its success would lead to more similar travel arrangements.
The air travel bubble, which was deferred in November 2020 due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong, will begin on 26 May.
Juliana Kua, Chief Representative and Executive Director for Greater China of Singapore Tourism Board, said the board would work closely with trade partners in Hong Kong, such as travel agents, airlines and travel booking platforms, to encourage travel to the city-state via joint campaigns and deals.
“Given the air travel bubble is a first for both Hong Kong and Singapore, the important thing is to start in a safe, measured and progressive manner,” said Kua as quoted by TODAY.
A representative for hotels JW Marriott Singapore South Beach and The St Regis Singapore shared that bookings from Hong Kong have increased without providing details.
The hotels’ Cluster Director of Marketing Communications, Nicole Ann Chew, said they eye to create a package for said travellers.
Hospitality firm Accor, which operates Raffles Hotel Singapore, Sofitel Singapore City Centre and Fairmont Singapore, plans to provide guest packages such as restaurant, accommodation, bar offers and activities.
“There is a huge pent-up demand from those living in both cities to get on a plane and travel somewhere after being home-bound for more than 12 months,” said Garth Simmons, CEO for Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea at Accor, as quoted by TODAY.
“We believe travellers are looking for experiences more than ever, so we have designed these special packages for them.”
Given the limited number of guests coming into Singapore per day and the city-state’s large supply of accommodation, Chew does not expect to see a major boost in revenue overall.
Travellers from Hong Kong will most likely be those visiting relatives here or travelling for business, said Michael Chiam, Senior Tourism Lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
“There will be people travelling here for leisure, but the number will not likely be large,” he said as quoted by TODAY.
Tourism experts believe the success of the travel bubble will serve as a crucial experience not only for Singapore but also for other countries.
In concurring, Simmons hopes a “successful bubble with Hong Kong will lead to other safe countries like Australia and New Zealand also (allowing its people to) travel to Singapore and this would be a great boost to the tourism industry, which has been severely impacted by the pandemic”.
On 26 April, authorities revealed that they are discussing with their counterparts in Taiwan for a similar air travel bubble. They are also eyeing possible air travel bubbles with Brunei, China, New Zealand and Australia.
But even with the “possible opening of more travel bubbles, the focus on domestic staycations will remain for the rest of the year”, said Chew.
“The SingapoRediscover voucher programme has certainly helped to breathe life into the hotels, but once the programme ends and every Singaporean has taken their one or two staycations, we will really need international visitors to fill the hotels and ensure that Singapore has a long-term tourism industry,” said Simmons.
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Cheryl Chiew, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this story, email: cheryl@propertyguru.com.sg
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