Homing in on the economy

Tickets for the first "bus sleeping tour" were snapped up within hours. However, the pandemic has placed greater demands on the industry to innovate. The "bus sleeping tour" lasted less than two months before being called off.

According to comments on the internet, some people thought it would be more cost-effective to take staycations than having a "bus sleeping tour".

For the tourism sector to better evolve in the post-pandemic economic recovery, the changes in travelers' needs and attitudes must be better understood, said Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group. She urged the industry to adapt to emerging consumer trends in travel and tourism.

But although the HKSAR government is actively seeking to ease border restrictions with the mainland, there seems to be a long way to go before the travel restrictions are fully lifted.

Normalizing cross-border travel is still an expectation at the moment. Rather, there could be more restrictions on cross-border movements because uncertainties still exist under current circumstances, warned Edward Yau Tang-wah, secretary for commerce and economic development. But he believes the process will be gradual, with business travel likely to be restored initially.

In his view, any resumption of normal cross-border travel will involve people engaged in high-end business activities.

While there are hardly any inbound customers yet, some companies eyeing the local tourism market have jumped on the bandwagon, targeting those seeking high-end services and experiences.

According to a Trending in Travel global report jointly released by Trip.com Group and the World Travel and Tourism Council on Nov 25, Hong Kong's staycation boom is set to stay for now as local residents have been subject to travel curbs for the past two years. The pent-up demand for travel has continued to surge during the pandemic, with luxury hotels among the most popular staycation choices.