Hong Kong customs clearance is slow, cruise ships, dragon boats and international events have abandoned Hong Kong one following another! Royal Caribbean International Cruise, which was originally scheduled to return to Hong Kong in the fourth season to develop cruise tourism, has decided to abandon the re-launch of high seas cruises in Hong Kong due to the delay in approving the submitted itinerary plan by the Hong Kong government. , and even decided to berth in Singapore until April 2024, which will make the Hong Kong Cruise Terminal, which has become a “fly fly” resort, even more deserted. Together with the West Kowloon High Speed Rail and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the three major cross-border tourism and transportation projects in Hong Kong have been “abolished” due to the epidemic. Opportunities to revive the post-pandemic economy. Government expert adviser Yuan Guoyong and three Hong Kong University scholars jointly wrote an article urging the government to “relax” as soon as possible. Related Hong Kong and Macau Epidemic Periodicals A2 Cross-Strait International Epidemic Periodicals A16
Under the epidemic, Hong Kong once planned to promote high seas travel to alleviate the plight of the tourism industry. However, the Royal Caribbean International Cruise, which resumed sea cruises in Hong Kong last year, applied to the Hong Kong government earlier to resume cruise tourism, but it has not received a clear reply from the government a month later. It is reported that following the company was approved, it would redeploy its cruise ships to Hong Kong in the fourth quarter. Now it has tended not to return the “Spectrum of the Seas” that had been moved to Singapore earlier. It is even said that the company may Will abandon the plan to re-launch high seas tours in Hong Kong.
This newspaper inquired regarding Royal Caribbean International Cruise yesterday (19th) and received a reply that the “Spectrum of the Seas”, which was originally operating in Hong Kong and now moved to Singapore, is currently on sale until the first quarter of 2024, that is, the cruise ship will be at least in Operation in Singapore until the first quarter of 2024. The reply also stated that as the cruise industry resumes normal operations in various places, it will take a long time for the redeployment of ships to return to Hong Kong. It is hoped that the Hong Kong government will adjust the epidemic prevention policy for high seas travel as soon as possible, but it does not deny that it is giving up on the resumption of high seas travel in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong government relies on the “reward you tour” to pull the cruise ship
The Medical and Health Bureau stated that the government had previously met with industry representatives and listened to their opinions. The Tourism Commission and the Hong Kong Tourism Board pointed out that they have been maintaining communication with companies that intend to operate cruise cruises on the high seas in Hong Kong, and will use the funds from the sixth round of the epidemic prevention fund to launch the “Reward You” cruise “High Seas Tour” to provide incentives to attract cruise companies. Send ships to port.
Ye Qingning, president of the Hong Kong Travel Agency Owners Association, said that in the past two years, Hong Kong and other parts of the world have been closed due to the epidemic, and Hong Kong people have nowhere to go. Therefore, cruise companies have launched “high seas tours”. In the case of reducing imported cases, cruise ships have become an alternative Entertainment venues serve citizens. However, the Hong Kong government has very high requirements for epidemic prevention in the “high seas cruise”. Once someone is infected or even just a close contact, the voyage will be cancelled, and the ships and staff will be suspended for 3 weeks. After calculating the income, the pros and cons, the cruise line does not want to keep the ship in Hong Kong, but sails to countries such as Singapore.
Kai Tak cruise terminal throws flies
Ye revealed that in mid-August, the cruise company and the travel agency discussed with the Medical and Health Bureau to relax the epidemic prevention requirements for “high seas travel”, and explained the epidemic prevention facilities on board, explaining that the risks were limited, but the authorities have not made any new announcements so far. Ye Qingning pointed out that cruise ships, like aircraft, cannot be arranged to operate in Hong Kong as soon as the authorities announce the relaxation of the policy. Cruise companies must arrange the sailing schedule and mobilize manpower earlier. Each change will take at least 3 months, not to mention countries Entry restrictions have been eased one following another, and cruise lines are already profitable in other countries, so there is no need to return to Hong Kong for high seas cruises.
He criticized the Hong Kong government for being outdated and not meeting the needs of shipping companies when formulating policies and implementing them. Unlike Singapore, which welcomes cruise ships to do business in the local area, it has led to such fields and made the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, which was built with huge funds, useless.
Li Zhaobo, an honorary teaching and research scholar at the Asia-Pacific Business Institute of the Chinese University of Business School, also said that the incident reflects the fact that the Hong Kong government bureaucrats operate independently and fail to cooperate with each other, resulting in a slow approval process and a slow response from the entire government. He also said that the thinking of the Hong Kong government is still “you submit documents to me for approval”, rather than actively recruiting cruise companies. Cruise companies are also profit-oriented, and they will not operate their business locally without appropriate policies.
Relying on internal circulation to revitalize the economy has little effect
Speaking of the closure of customs inside and outside Hong Kong, the economy has fallen into the predicament of “fish in the pond”. Li Zhaobo pointed out that it is not feasible for Hong Kong to rely on the “internal circulation” of local consumption to revitalize the economy. Even the distribution of consumer coupons has not stimulated local consumption. The comprehensive relaxation of entry quarantine regulations will not only cancel the “0+7” of hotel quarantine, but also cancel the testing requirements before boarding the plane, so that foreign tourists can easily come to Hong Kong, and the economy is expected to stabilize.
The cruise ship “Spectrum of the Seas” had to return to the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal due to 9 close contacts on the high seas cruise that reopened in January this year. Passengers on board must be tested on board before they can land. Royal Caribbean International Cruises subsequently announced that in view of the continued extension of the cruise suspension measures by the Hong Kong government, the remaining voyages of the Spectrum of the Seas in Hong Kong this quarter were cancelled, and in the same month, the “Spectrum of the Seas” was transferred from Hong Kong to Singapore in April.
