Skift Take
Experts on the ground in both Hong Kong and Singapore already report booking spikes and surges in airfares and hotel rates. The message is to start laying the groundwork for when China eventually eases its own travel policies.
Travel management companies are warning airfares will continue to surge in the coming weeks following Hong Kong’s decision to relax travel restrictions this week.
Since September 26, international travelers to Hong Kong have not had to undergo mandatory hotel quarantine. Hotel rates also jumped as the financial hub starts competing again for international business travelers against rival Singapore, and could jump by as much as 40 percent in the coming months.
Singapore, which dropped most of its travel restrictions in March, has has already seen a strong return of conference business, in part due to Hong Kong’s ongoing closure.
Corporate travel agency CWT said inbound and outbound bookings in Singapore were up around five-fold from the beginning of the year, but now booking levels in Hong Kong were increasing, with transactions currently three times higher than at the beginning of the year.
“Call volumes to our travel counselors in Hong Kong spiked following the announcement, and we expect this could translate to a big jump in bookings in the weeks ahead,” said Akshay Kapoor, head of sales, Asia Pacific, CWT.
“We’re receiving many queries from travelers who were previously planning itineraries with multiple destinations but are now looking to split those up into separate trips since they won’t have to quarantine when they return,” he added.
BCD
