SINGAPORE, April 30 — A number of attraction operators and hoteliers here do not believe the recently revived Hong Kong-Singapore air travel bubble will provide the boost they need to ride out the Covid-19 pandemic given the small number of passengers involved. However, they still welcome the move, hoping its success could lead to more of such travel arrangements.

Until that happens, the domestic market will play a central role in their business operations, some said. At the same time, various businesses told TODAY that they are gearing up to welcome travellers from Hong Kong when the first cohort of travellers arrive from May 26 onwards.

The new start date for the long-delayed travel bubble, which was deferred in November last year due to a spike in Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong, was announced on Monday (April 26).

Juliana Kua, Singapore Tourism Board’s chief representative and executive director for Greater China, said that the board will be working closely with its trade partners in Hong Kong — such as travel booking platforms, travel agents and airlines — to encourage travel to Singapore through joint campaigns and deals.

"Given the air travel bubble is a first for both Hong Kong and Singapore, the important thing is to start in a safe, measured and progressive manner,” Kua said.

‘No major impact’

A representative for the hotels JW Marriott Singapore South Beach and The St Regis Singapore said that bookings from Hong Kong have already increased but did not give details.

Nicole Ann Chew, the hotels’ cluster director of marketing communications, said that it is looking at creating a package for these travellers.

Multinational hospitality firm Accor, which operates the iconic Raffles Hotel Singapore as well as Fairmont Singapore and Sofitel Singapore City Centre, among others, said that it will also provide guest packages, including accommodation, restaurant and bar offers and activities.

Garth Simmons, Accor’s chief executive officer for Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, said: "There is a huge pent-up demand from those living in both cities to get on a plane and travel somewhere after being home-bound for more than 12 months.

"We believe travellers are looking for experiences more than ever, so we have designed these special packages for them.”

Still, Chew said that with such limited numbers coming into Singapore each day, and the large supply of accommodation here, she does not expect a major boost in revenue overall.

The Singapore Hotel Association's president Kwee Wei-Lin said that before the pandemic, more than 90 per cent of Singapore’s hotel revenue was generated by international tourism.

"Until borders reopen in a safe and meaningful way, our industry continues to struggle with financial challenges,” she said.

The authorities announced on April 26 that they are now in discussion with their counterparts in Taiwan to arrange a similar air travel bubble. They are also looking at possible air travel bubbles with Australia, Brunei, China and New Zealand.

Chew said: "Even with the possible opening of more travel bubbles, the focus on domestic staycations will remain for the rest of the year.”

Simmons of Accor said, though, that domestic tourism will never be enough to sustain the industry in the long term. Accor’s hotels are operating at around 40 per cent capacity overall for now.

 "The SingapoRediscover voucher programme has certainly helped to breathe life into the hotels, but once the programme ends and every Singaporean has taken their one or two staycations, we will really need international visitors to fill the hotels and ensure that Singapore has a long-term tourism industry,” he said.

Domestic focus

As for tourism attractions in Singapore, Dr Kevin Cheong, chairman of the Association of Singapore Attractions, said that the industry must continue to engage with residents and "convert them from visitors to raving fans” of tourism attractions here.

"This will be the more sustainable strategy for visitor attractions in Singapore,” Dr Cheong said. 

One attraction operator on Sentosa told TODAY that it has successfully shifted to focus on domestic visitors since the start of travel restriction last year and will continue to do so.

Lawrence Koh, the chief executive officer of iFly Singapore, which provides a simulated skydiving experience in a vertical wind tunnel, said that his company has offered attractive rates and in pitching indoor skydiving as a competitive sport that can help people achieve their fitness goals.

"The efforts are paying off as we see a substantial growth for our membership base of customers who now work out regularly in the wind tunnel,” he said.

Of course, Koh is also looking forward to receiving travellers from Hong Kong, even though visitors from the city accounted for only about 20 per cent of total visitors pre-pandemic.

With the daily flights from Hong Kong to Singapore in hot demand, Koh is optimistic that the travel bubble will increase sales in the short term.

When TODAY checked the availability of inbound flights from Hong Kong yesterday at around 4pm, flights on Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific were fully booked until June 5. There was only a single seat left on a one-way premium economy flight the following day, priced at HK$11,634 (RM6,139.88).

One attraction here, Gardens by the Bay, which was listed as the top tourist destination for Hong Kong visitors in 2019, based on the Singapore Tourism Analytics Network, said that it does not see a need to make a radical shift in its business focus.

Lee Kok Fatt, the garden’s deputy chief executive officer, said: "Even when overseas travel was at a standstill, Gardens by the Bay has nonetheless continued to offer events for Singaporeans to enjoy. This approach will serve us well when the air travel bubble begins, as these events would also be attractive to overseas visitors.” 

Some industry players also told TODAY that the travel bubble with Hong Kong would not make much of a difference to them.

Wilson Chua, the director of sightseeing company Timesworld Travel and Educational Tours, said that he has already introduced tour packages to his agents in Hong Kong, but has yet to see any take-up.

Over at walking tour company Oriental Travel and Tours, its founder and managing partner Stanley Foo said that based on his experience before the pandemic, Hong Kong travellers are not likely to take part in his tours.

Moreover, he pointed out that vaccination rates in Hong Kong are low, which would further limit the number of inbound travellers.

Hong Kong has made it mandatory for people leaving the city for Singapore to be vaccinated, and only 6.2 per cent of the city’s 7.5 million residents had been fully vaccinated as of yesterday.

Significant test

Christopher Khoo, the managing director of tourism consultancy MasterConsult Services, said that the vaccination rate in Hong Kong should not be a cause of concern for the travel bubble.

"Those who want to travel will definitely avail themselves to the vaccination once they qualify,” he said. "The number of flights or seats at the start will be small anyway and will increase as the weeks go by without incident.”

Ngee Ann Polytechnic's senior tourism lecturer Michael Chiam said that travellers from Hong Kong will most probably be those coming here to visit relatives or travelling for business.

"There will be people travelling here for leisure but the number will not likely be large,” he said.

Be that as it may, the tourism experts said that the success of the travel bubble will be a crucial experience for not just Singapore, but other countries.

Agreeing, Simmons of Accor said: "Our hope is that a successful bubble with Hong Kong will lead to other safe countries like Australia and New Zealand also (allowing its people to) travel to Singapore and this would be a great boost to the tourism industry, which has been severely impacted by the pandemic.” ― TODAY