8:30am-9:15am: International travel amid Covid

8:30am-9:15am: Prof Roberto Bruzzone, Co-Director, HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, School of Public Health, HKU

8:30am-9:00am: Prof Haiyan Song, Associate Dean, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

8:30am-9:15am: Achim Czerny, Associate Professor, Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

9:15am-9:30am: Water World

9:15am-9:30am: Brian King, Professor and Associate Dean, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

On Thursday's Backchat: International travel amid Covid; and Water World.  
As we are stepping into 19 months of the pandemic, the collapse in travel demand and the closure of borders have hit the aviation and tourism industry worldwide. 
Hong Kong’s flagship airline Cathay Pacific said it expects to see only 13% of its pre-pandemic activity, with the company earlier recorded more than HK$7.5 billion loss for the first half of 2021.
Meanwhile, the US is easing its travel restrictions, reopening to visitors from the UK, EU and other nations. Can we do the same? How and when should we reopen international travel?
In Hong Kong, social distancing rules are extended until September 29 despite a relatively low infection rate here. Why?
After 9:15am, we’re looking at the Water World as it opens on Tuesday September 21. How’s it going?