【原文】下文摘錄自2022年6月11日香港《文匯報》︰

日本早前重啟外國遊客入境程序，內地、香港等低風險國家及地區的遊客可豁免入境檢測和隔離。隨着疫情緩和，周邊多地陸續放寬旅遊限制。香港作為國際金融、經貿中心，旅遊業亦是本港支柱產業之一，特區政府有需要密切關注周邊地區放寬旅遊限制的發展情況，汲取正反經驗，以利本港在做好外防輸入的基礎上，有序逐步恢復正常的旅遊往來，為重振本港經濟、就業注入活力。

日本一向是港人的熱門旅遊地，日本免檢對外國遊客開放，受到港人關注。日本的首階段開放，遊客必須隨旅行團入境，全程要遵守佩戴口罩等防疫措施，及購買醫療保險。出於防疫要求，當局還規定遊客在日本期間要有導遊全程陪同。有外國旅行社經營者反映，不少民眾很想赴日遊玩，但很難接受導遊全程隨行，「感覺就像24小時被監視」，而且，若外國遊客在日本確診，確診者和密切接觸者都要隔離，衍生的費用由誰承擔等問題並無明確答案，難免增加海外遊客對日本遊的顧慮。

更令業界不滿的是，日本政府今次僅提前3天才公布指引，導致開關安排一片混亂，許多旅行社還在匆忙為遊客辦理簽證等手續。有業界人士擔憂，日本政府未能提供詳細的入境規劃，令海外遊客大多持觀望態度，本地旅遊業界無法作好準備，日本開放對外旅遊、帶動經濟迅速復甦的願望恐會落空。

另一方面，日本民眾對重啟外國遊客入境並非一面倒支持，有民眾甚至認為措施對日本「百害而無一利」，因為按照新的措施，有部分外國遊客不需要檢測和隔離，令輸入疫情的風險大增，恐本地再次爆疫，日本可能得不償失。

日本重新開關、迎接外國遊客，成效尚待觀察，但值得本港拭目以待。旅遊業是本港經濟4大支柱產業之一，不僅是特區政府的重要稅收來源，而且對零售、酒店與餐飲等服務業影響舉足輕重，更為低技術人員提供大量就業機會。這兩年受疫情打擊，本港旅遊業遭受重創，2021年全年訪港旅客人數約9.1萬人次，大跌97.4%。近期，周邊多國多地陸續放寬入境政策，除了日本之外，新加坡、泰國、馬來西亞等國也規定，遊客只要完成接種疫苗，不需檢測及隔離，更有部分旅遊地點完全解除防疫措施。周邊地區重新向外國遊客開放，其中的經驗、教訓，香港應認真總結，作為本港有序恢復對外開放旅遊的重要借鏡。

本港作為國際城市，與國際社會保持緊密交往，不僅有利重振本港經濟，更是本港必須持續盡力鞏固的獨特優勢。同時，本港要保持疫情穩定、早日實現與內地恢復正常通關，積極融入國家發展大局，把握國家快速發展機遇。因此，特區政府、旅遊業界及全港市民更要齊心協力、集思廣益，努力取得兩方面平衡，力求穩步開放旅遊又防範疫情反彈，走出一條有效防疫控疫、兼顧提振經濟民生的穩妥途徑。

Hong Kong Should Draw from Japan's Experience in Border Reopening

【譯文】Japan has earlier restarted visa procedures for accepting foreign tourists. Visitors from countries and regions with low risk of infection, including Hong Kong and the Mainland, can be exempted from testing and quarantine requirements for COVID-19. As the pandemic eases, many neighbouring countries and regions are gradually relaxing their travel restrictions. Being an international financial and trade centre, Hong Kong sees tourism as one of its pillar industries. It is necessary for the SAR Government to keep a close eye on the progress of the relaxation of travel restrictions in its neighbouring countries and regions, and learn from the positive and negative experiences of others, so as to help the city guard against importation of cases. This would allow Hong Kong to resume normal travel with other countries in an orderly and gradual manner, and help revive the city's economy and job market.

Japan has always been a popular tourist destination for Hong Kong people. Japan's latest quarantine-free policy to let in foreign tourists has attracted the attention of many people in Hong Kong. Under the first stage of the reopening policy, only tourists who are on guided tours are allowed into Japan. Tourists must comply with the anti-COVID measures, including wearing masks, at all times, and take out medical insurance. For epidemic prevention reasons, tourists are required to be accompanied by a tour guide throughout the entire trip. According to some foreign travel agencies, many people wish to travel to Japan for tourism, but are unwilling to stay with a tour guide for the whole journey, as it is like being under 24-hour surveillance. Besides, in the situation where a foreign visitor is confirmed positive for the disease in Japan, the confirmed patient and his or her close contacts would have to be quarantined. Yet, it is unclear who would be responsible for such costs incurred, and it is thus another concern people have about visiting Japan.

What's more, the industry was unhappy with the Japanese government releasing the new travel guidelines just three days before its announced reopening date, and such arrangement resulted in chaos. For instance, many tourist agencies had to hurriedly apply for visas for their clients. Some members of the industry are concerned that the Japanese government has not been able to provide details on its border control measures, and for this reason, a lot of foreign tourists are still taking a wait-and-see approach. Given that it is hard for the tourism industry to prepare for the new policy, the hope of Japan to boost the country's economic recovery could vanish.

On the other hand, the Japanese government did not receive overwhelming support from its people for the reopening policy. Some people in Japan even think that the new measure does nothing but harm to the country. This is because under the new policy, some foreign visitors are exempted from testing and quarantine, which causes a much higher risk of importing cases from abroad. It is worried that there would be another local outbreak of COVID-19 in Japan, which might outweigh the benefits produced.

The effectiveness of Japan's reopening to foreign tourists awaits further study, but Hong Kong should keep a close watch on how the policy plays out. As one of the four pillar industries in the Hong Kong economy, the city's tourism sector does not only provide an important source of revenue for the SAR Government, but also has a significant bearing on the services sectors, such as retail, hotel, as well as food and beverages, offering many job opportunities to low-skilled workers. Due to the pandemic, Hong Kong's tourism industry was hit hard in the past two years. The number of international visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in 2021 was about 91,000, which saw a 97.4% drop. Recently, a number of neighbouring countries and regions have had their travel restrictions eased. Apart from Japan, countries such as Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia, also allow fully vaccinated tourists to be exempted from testing and quarantine; some tourist destinations have even seen all anti-COVID measures removed. Hong Kong should take stock of the experiences of the nearby regions that have reopened their borders to foreign tourists. They could serve as an important reference for Hong Kong, as the city seeks to resume international travel in an orderly fashion.

Being an international city, Hong Kong should remain closely engaged with the international community, which would be favourable for the city's economic recovery, as it strives to consolidate its unique strengths. At the same time, Hong Kong should keep the epidemic under control and resume normal travel with the Mainland as soon as possible, so that the city can better integrate into the national development plan and seize the opportunities under the rapid development of the nation. Therefore, the SAR Government, the local tourism industry, and all people in Hong Kong should put heads together and make joint efforts to strike a balance between the two goals—that is, to seek to steadily reopen its border to international visitors while preventing an epidemic rebound—and find a way that takes into account the epidemic context and the needs to improve the city's economy and people's livelihood.◆ Kit Siu