In view of the fluctuating epidemic situation in foreign countries, the Government has tightened the entry and exit of air crew members and passengers. The arrangements have led to difficulties and inconvenience for airlines to operate. For this reason, I hoped that the Government would listen to the opinions from members of the tourism industry through various channels.

 

• Airlines

 

23 August 2021
Reflected to the CE that the quarantine arrangements for air crew members had brought huge challenges to the operation of Hong Kong's aviation industry as well as the passengers and cargo traffic. I also sent a letter to the CE on 27 August 2021 to request for inspection.

 

 

27 January 2021
The was a rumour that the Government would require all crew members or pilots to take 14+7 days of quarantine after arriving in Hong Kong. Regarding the concern, I raised questions at the meeting of the Subcommittee on Subsidiary Legislation Relating to the Prevention and Control of Disease and asked whether the Government had discussed with airlines and assessed the impact of the new measures on vaccine transportation arrangements if the above policies were to be implemented.

 

 

26 December 2020
Attended an interview by TVB news and recommended that if the Government were to adjust the number of days for compulsory quarantine upon future arrivals in Hong Kong, a buffer period would need to be set aside. Meanwhile, advance notification should be given to airlines as soon as possible.

 

 

• Requested to Resume the “Cruise-to-Nowhere” Itineraries

 

The suspension of operation of the two cruise terminals in Hong Kong since February 2020 resulted in a heavy blow to local cruise and tourism industries. As the epidemic in Hong Kong was later brought under control, the industry urged the Government to relax the restrictions, in which the cruise lines were willing to fully cooperate with the Government's epidemic prevention and testing requirements. I worked with members of the industry and reflected their demands to the relevant Government departments through various channels. In the end, the Government agreed to the resumption under certain conditions, and Hong Kong residents could participate in the “Cruise-to-Nowhere” on the cruises. The first voyage was set

15 September 2021
I wrote a letter to the SCED and recommended to relax the time limit for PCRtesting of passengers from 48 hours to 72 hours before boarding.

 

 

28 July 2021
I worked with several members of the LegCo to conduct a site visit and inspect the epidemic prevention measures before the cruise ship commenced its journey.

 

 

25 May 2021
Attended "The Millennium (千禧年代)" together with Mr. Jeff BENT, Managing Director of Worldwide Cruise Terminals, operator of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. We explained the safety of "Cruise-to-Nowhere" as well as cruise terminal and cruise company's preparations for the resumption of voyages.

 

 

14 May 2021
Wrote a letter to Ms. Vivian Sum, Commissioner for Tourism, and requested for the resumption of the "Cruise-to-Nowhere".

 

9 April 2021
Held a press conference with the Hong Kong Travel Agents' Relief Alliance and members of the cruise industry to publish the "Result of the Opinion Survey on Resuming Local Tours and Cruise-to-Nowhere" and urged the Government to relax the relevant business restrictions.

 

27 October 2020
Together with representatives of the cruise industry, met with Miss Katharine CHOI Man-yee, the then Deputy Commissioner for Tourism, and urged the Government to make reference to the practices of Taiwan, Singapore, and other places in resuming local cruise itineraries as soon as possible.

 

15 October 2020
Wrote a letter to Mr. Edward YAU Tang-wah, SCED, and requested for the resumption of the "Cruise-to-Nowhere".

 

• Strived to Support Tourism-related Transportation Industries

 

Due to the epidemic, most of the entry and exit ports have ceased operation since February 2020. Apart from passenger flow that was tremendously affected, the cross-border transportation industry was also forced to suspend their activities. As a result, local tour coaches, limousine rental services, and cross-boundary sea and land passenger transportation businesses were also impacted seriously. The challenged had brought about heavy pressure on the operators of such businesses. In view of this devastating situation, I worked with members of the industry in seeking more funding from the Government through different channels. Unfortunately, the Government has only provided minimal support since the outbreak of the epidemic. Many members of the industries were indeed very disappointed.

 

1 September 2021
In a LegCo meeting, I raised a verbal question to Mr. Edward YAU Tang-wah, SCED. Since many tour coach companies had received reminders from banks to repay their loans, I hoped that the relevant authorities could extend the "Pre-approved Principal Payment Holiday Scheme" to the middle of 2022 so as to alleviate the difficulties encountered by these companies.

 

 

1 September 2021
Affected by the shutdown of the border due to the epidemic, some cross-boundary vehicles in the Mainland failed to return to Hong Kong to renew their licenses. Meanwhile, some old vehicles had their licenses cancelled because they had participated in the scheme of Phasing Out Euro IV Diesel Commercial Vehicles organized by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD). However, as the pandemic lingered on, the car owners did not have sufficient money to purchase new cars and re-apply for relevant licences. Many owners worried that cross-border vehicles without valid licences would lose the Government's latest round of relief measures. In view of such dilemmas, Hon. Frankie YICK Chi-ming and I met with personnel of the Transport Department and requested for clarifications on the relevant application criteria.

 

12 August 2021
I wrote a letter to Mr. Edward YAU Tang-wah, SCED, hoping that the "Tourism Industry Additional Support Scheme (Special Further Subsidies)" could be extended to cover operators of tour coaches that cater for overseas and local tourists (especially A01 service licence), limousines, cruise ships, etc.. The additional coverage could provide timely assistance to relevant stakeholders.

 

22 July 2021
Since it is a common practice for many car companies to acquire loans from the banks, I wrote a joint letter with Hon. Frankie YICK Chi-ming to Mr. Eddie YUE Wai-man, CE of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and request an extension of the "Pre-approved Principal Payment Holiday Scheme" for one year.

 

30 December 2020
I wrote a letter to Mr. Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, the then CS, and suggested to include the maritime tourism industry and cross-boundary
passenger service sector in the scope of funding for the "Anti-epidemic Fund".

 

 

23 December 2020
Together with Hon. Frankie YICK Chi-ming and the Public Omnibus Operators Association, I met with Mr. Frank CHAN Fan, Secretary for Transport and Housing (STH) and expressed our hope that the Government could understand the plight of non-franchised buses in operating their businesses. Through such an arrangement, the Government could make up for the omission and provide emergency financial assistance to members of the industry.

 

 

22 December 2020
Cross-border buses have suffered from service suspension and zero income for nearly 11 months, yet the owners still need to bear high operating expenses. However, the Government has not provided any subsidy in the new round of Anti-epidemic Fund. Many members in the industry were very disappointed to see the Government ignoring the difficult situation of the cross-boundary passenger service sector and its employees. Hence, I held a press conference with a number of LegCo members to help gain support for the cross-boundary bus industry that has been forced to suspend service for nearly a year.

 

 

17 December 2020
Hon. Frankie YICK Chi-ming and I joined theHong Kong Guangdong Boundary Crossing Bus Association Limited and the China Hong Kong and Macau Boundary Crossing Bus Association Limited to meet with Mr. Frank CHAN Fan, STH.