• A travel bubble between Australia is Hong Kong is closer than at any stage during the pandemic, after Hong Kong confirmed a bilateral agreement with Singapore.
• The Hong Kong-Singapore bubble will open May 26, roughly a year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced each nation to shut its border.
• Hong Kong will use the new bubble for “further discussion” with Australia and New Zealand, said Hong Kong’s Commerce Secretary Edward Yau.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

A travel bubble connecting Australia and Hong Kong is closer than it has been at any stage of the pandemic, after Hong Kong and Singapore revealed cross-border travel will resume next month.

On Monday, the governments of Hong Kong and Singapore announced two-way travel will restart on May 26, more than a year after the COVID-19 crisis forced each nation to slam its borders shut.

The agreement will allow travellers to enter each nation without first undergoing lengthy stints in hotel quarantine.

The news follows the opening of the Australia-New Zealand travel bubble this month, which was hailed as one of the world’s first major bilateral travel agreements under pandemic conditions.

However, the Hong Kong-Singapore system will be subject to stricter requirements, as Hong Kong residents will only be permitted to travel to Singapore 14 days after receiving their second COVID-19 dose.

The bubble will open with only one flight per day connecting the jurisdictions, carrying up to 200 passengers at a time.

A similar travel arrangement was originally scheduled to begin in November, but was postponed one day before launch due to a spike in cases recorded in Hong Kong.

Both regions will carefully monitor case levels when the new bubble opens, officials said.

“Our goal remains striking a right balance between public health and travel convenience so that the public will rest assured while maintaining certainty,” Hong Kong’s Secretary for Commerce Edward Yau in a statement.

While the bubble is yet to open, Yau said news of the Singapore travel arrangement will allow Hong Kong to progress negotiations with Australia and New Zealand about new, broader bubbles.

“We have been keeping in touch with a number of economies,” Yau told reporters on Monday.

“For instance, immediately after the agreement of Singapore, I’m going to let some other partners, for instance, New Zealand, Australia, know that while we have this arrangement, we can use this for further discussion with them.

“Subject to bilateral consensus, I think this process can be carried on,” Yau added.

As Hong Kong prepares to negotiate with Australia, Singapore has emerged as a front-runner for the nation’s next quarantine-free travel partner.

Speaking in Cairns last week, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack confirmed “we’re in those discussions with Singapore at the moment,” with any potential bubble opening “when it’s safe to do so.”

McCormack circled Japan, South Korea, and Australia’s neighbours in the South Pacific as potential travel partners.

Given Hong Kong’s insistence that departing travellers are fully immunised before departure, it remains to be seen how Australia — which has vaccinated a tiny fraction of its eligible population — would comport with a fresh travel bubble.

Yet Yau’s confirmation that talks are underway will be seen as positive news for Australia’s aviation and travel sectors, which are approaching the idea of renewed tourism with guarded optimism.

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