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Hong Kong travelers reroute long trips via mainland China amid Middle East war
Travel agents cited safety concerns over flying through the Middle East and higher Gulf-region airfares, with mainland transits often cheaper for peak London travel.
Transiting via mainland China for long-haul trips booked from Hong Kong has become an alternative to Middle East stopovers as travelers respond to safety concerns linked to the US-Israel war involving Iran, the South China Morning Post reports.
Miramar Travel general manager Alex Lee Chun-ting said the conflict initially dampened summer interest in long-haul tours to Europe, but he now expects a 3% year-on-year increase. He attributed the shift to hesitancy to use Middle East routes, plus pricier fares, which has pushed more demand toward direct long-haul flights and also boosted interest in group discounts offered by some mainland airlines with stopovers in Shanghai or Beijing.
For popular trips to London, Lee said economy flights transiting through the mainland are, on average, HK$1,000 to HK$2,000 (US$127 to US$255) cheaper than direct services from Hong Kong during the peak summer season, excluding fuel surcharges and taxes. Goldjoy Holidays chief operating officer Carmen Chan Hiu-nam said about 50% of its European tour customers chose to continue with itineraries transiting via the mainland in March and April, a level she characterized as low.