Returning for Lunar New Year an expensive luxury for Hongkongers stuck overseas

Hongkongers are finding it harder to get home, given the government’s strict travel restrictions and increasingly expensive hotel rooms. For many, Lunar New Year family reunions are now a financial burden

John Hanzhang Ye

Published: 9:45am, 28 Jan 2022

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As the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spreads across the globe, Hong Kong has joined many other regions and countries in imposing tough restrictions. In addition to containing local transmissions, the Hong Kong government has taken measures since the beginning of the pandemic to control incoming travellers.

At the moment, every major country where Hongkongers prefer to study and live is listed in Group A as high-risk. This means anyone returning to the city from those countries is required to spend 21 days at a designated quarantine hotel.

These measures, aimed at stopping returnees from spreading the virus to the local community, have gradually become a financial obstacle for Hongkongers overseas.

Those seeking to return must contend with the uncertainty over flight schedules and cancellations, plus the difficulty of booking hotel rooms, to reunite with their families. Family gatherings for the Lunar New Year, a tradition long shared throughout the community, is now a luxury for Hongkongers currently overseas.

Since December 2020, the Hong Kong government has designated certain hotels for incoming travellers to serve their quarantine. This was meant to ensure they did not mingle with the local community during the virus’ incubation period.

Rates for quarantine hotel rooms at the time ranged from less than HK$500 (US$65) per night to thousands of dollars, depending on the hotel. Incoming travellers had to quarantine there for 14 days. The cheapest quarantine package was around HK$6,000, around a quarter of the median monthly income in Hong Kong.

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Hotels have struggled to survive amid the sharp decrease in inbound travellers, forcing them to offer discounts. Research by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council showed international tourist arrivals fell 73 per cent year on year in 2020. And the Tourism Board reported a 97.4 per cent drop in visitor numbers in 2021, down from 3.57 million in 2020, to 91,398 last year.

Initially, this harsh situation for local hotels helped Hongkongers returning to the city find affordable bookings. With the spread of Covid-19 and tightened restrictions in the city, though, Hongkongers overseas are finding it harder to get home.

Following the emergence of the Delta and Omicron variants, the Hong Kong government currently requires arrivals from most countries to spend 21 days in quarantine (This will be reduced to 14 days from February 5).

This has brought extra financial burdens and made it harder to secure hotel bookings, given the need to stay an extra week. Prices for hotels have also increased despite more joining the quarantine programme.

Examining the cost of quarantine hotel rooms, average room rates have risen almost 30 per cent from 2021 to 2022, with a more than 60 per cent increase in median room rates between the third cycle, which ran until June 19 last year, and the current or seventh cycle, which runs until July 31.

If we separate suites and non-suite rooms, the median price for suites in the third cycle was HK$2,600 and HK$4,300 in the seventh cycle. The median for non-suite rooms was HK$780 in the third cycle and HK$1,160 in the seventh cycle.

The rate per square foot gives a better insight into the price changes. For suites, it was HK$4.20 per sq ft in the third cycle and HK$6.80 per sq ft in the seventh cycle. A similar trend is apparent for non-suite rooms as the rate per sq ft in the third cycle was HK$3.30 compared with HK$4.60 in the most recent cycle.

This cycle-on-cycle change saw a rapid increase in the latter part of 2021 and the beginning of 2022. If we look at the percentage change in the median room rate per sq ft, the biggest increase came around the sixth and seventh cycles.

The seventh cycle saw a 10.4 per cent increase from the sixth cycle in the non-suite room rate per sq ft and a 38.5 per cent rise in the room rate per sq ft for suites. If a Hong Kong student wanted to come home this year and chose the cheapest quarantine package, they would have to spend far more than during the same period last year.

In addition to increases in quarantine hotel room rates, Hongkongers abroad also face rising prices for flights, some of which are being cancelled due to updated quarantine rules for pilots and stricter flight suspension mechanisms.

Those planning to return to the city for the Lunar New Year have been forced to book and rebook flights, given the constantly changing schedules. There is also the additional cost of extra Covid-19 tests, plus potential spending on hotels and food at transit airports.

After the government banned flights from eight countries, some Hongkongers have been forced to use alternative routes by spending 22 days in other countries before travelling back. This, of course, means additional spending on hotels and flights, and it does not alleviate the anxiety over potentially having flights cancelled by the Hong Kong authorities.

People’s Daily published a commentary recently criticising a local mayor in central China who said people returning home were doing so maliciously.

With all the obstacles standing in the way of Hongkongers trying to get home, the government’s current policies and attitude mean that family gatherings are a luxury for those stuck overseas.

John Hanzhang Ye is a PhD student in science and technology history at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and also holds an MPhil degree in sociology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong