Thai tour group in Hong Kong disappointed after being stuck dining in hotel room

A 50-member Thai tour group to Hong Kong had a not-so-great experience after being forced to dine in hotel rooms due to current Covid-19 restrictions. The group was supposed to tour the city for four days and three nights as part of a new wave of tourists being welcomed. But, Hong Kong’s Covid measures have proved to be disappointing as a colour-coded system has kept many from venturing outside.

Now, tourists can only dine in designated catering premises and enter attractions when holding an Amber Code. The group had apparently not arranged to enter such designated restaurants in time, resulting in being stuck in their hotel rooms.

According to The Standard, Yuen Fung-lin, the general manager of Carry On Travel Services says many travellers were disappointed, including the Thai tour group he managed.

“They complained about the complexity of travelling as they are not allowed to dine outside and were asked to upload their results of rapid antigen tests to the government website.”

Such requirements are another part of the new anti-epidemic measures set forth by the city.

Yuen says the number is anticipated and furthered that no rebound will happen in tourism even if the government expands the list of premises which allows inbound traveller who holds an Amber Code to enter.

But, Ricky Tse Kam-ting, the founding president of the Hong Kong Inbound Tour Operators Association, says the new relaxations are better than nothing.

“Hong Kong still needs to take steps in recovering the competitivity for further easing the entry curbs.”

Currently, group travellers need to submit a daily rapid antigen test but the new measures deem that they only need two PCR tests after arriving in Hong Kong.