Hong Kong Not Deterred by Omicron As Travel Restrictions to be Lifted

December 7, 2021 Emerging Markets

In a significant step towards opening its borders to mainland China and Macau, the Hong Kong government announced that it will open the new “Hong Kong Health Code” system for registration starting this Friday, December 10.

Hong Kong Recovery Continues
The new system, which aligns with the respective health code tracking systems of the three jurisdictions, is designed to allow travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong Province without the need for quarantine. The absence of a compatible application was seen as a major obstacle to cross-border travel between these three jurisdictions.

It will use a traffic system that allows only people with a “green” health code to cross the border. This is similar to other such systems all around the globe. Although it is expected that travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong Province will resume without quarantine, there will be an initial daily limit.

Inside Asian Gaming reported in June that Macau officials had planned to establish a special “blue code” system for visitors to Hong Kong as part of a plan to reopen the border between the Special Administrative Regions.

Following an outbreak of COVID-19, Macau’s early August, the Macao SAR Government confirmed that 51 hotels had agreed to receive “blue code” guests in approximately 2,700 hotel rooms. However, the plan was scrapped.

Macau Needs Hong Kong
Hong Kong is an important source of traffic for Macau, providing around 22% of its activity. Continued travel restrictions between the two, as well as additional restrictions with the mainland, have hampered Macau’s ability to rebound. With international travel still being thwarted, local travel will become more important.