China and Hong Kong will begin quarantine-free travel as early as January, according to local media reports, as the mainland swiftly loosens its Covid Zero controls.
According to the report, travel might resume as soon as January 9, citing unnamed sources from the Guangdong health commission. It was also said that tourists coming to China from Hong Kong would be subject to a three-day home monitoring program.
Hong Kong’s economy would be greatly boosted by the return of mainland tourists after more than two years of border restrictions due to the Covid outbreak. Goldman Sachs predicted on Monday that the city’s GDP might grow by 7.6% as a result of China’s reopening, thanks to an increase in trade and tourism revenue.
More overseas tourists are expected to visit China in the “near future,” according to the country’s ambassador to the United States, who spoke to the media on Monday, signaling further signs that China is emerging from its Covid Zero lockdown.
Chinese authorities have been busy in recent weeks eliminating the Covid Zero rules in response to mounting economic costs and unprecedented social unrest. On Tuesday, a nationwide smartphone app that was formerly used to track people’s travel history was deactivated.
