Visa waiver program and CX
 

HK to be added to the VWP soon; HK tourist numbers for US has been quite low (definitely not their potential), and will this have any effect on it/ CX?

http://hawaii.news.blogs.civilbeat.c...visas-added-to

This bill still has to be voted in senate. House will work on its own immigration bill and then reconcile with senate if they manage to pass it.

Its no where close to be done.

US is no longer a very favourite destination for Hong Kong tourists. They have found a lot more places to go. Many of my friends only travel to US for business. CX is normally conservative in expanding, but I am sure this will bring additional business to the airline if this becomes true.

This is a step in the right direction but I've been hearing this "soon" business for so long that I'll believe it when the ink dries.

It's understandable, when you get get a great CX Holidays package to places like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia etc for ~$3000 (tickets and hotel included), the US is losing out quick.

I wonder if this will be valid for HKSAR passports as well as BNO?
In any case this is VERY welcome news as Canada is trying to rip people off with an increased fee.
I was thinking-is my passport was valid to the US visa free, I don't even need a Canadian passport anymore except for a possible 'out' in case the mainland further ruins HK.

Looks like it will only be for HKSAR, and probably not BN(O). And the price of the HKSAR passport is hard to beat...

I wonder if one clue is that this measure is being proposed by a Senator from Hawaii. They probably hope that visa-free access would make that state a more tempting vacation destination. It has nonstop flights to Japan and South Korea and potentially now Taiwan. But (except for Taiwan) those places are not significantly further from HNL than they are from other beach destinations in SE Asia. HKG is. Meaning a Hong Konger can travel five hours and be at DPS, or per GCM travel almost as far as the HKG-LHR distance to get to Hawaii. So I wouldn't be holding my breath for CX to introduce HKG-HNL.

As for the mainland U.S., it's an unknown as to how many HKers would visit the U.S. but can't be bothered to get a visa. Perhaps CX picks up some more traffic. But it also depends on the mix of connecting vs O/D traffic on N.American flights since with the exception of Taiwan the bulk of connecting pax originating in Asia still need visas.

I thought China Airlines flies directly from TPE to Honolulu?

All my HK friends and relatives can't believe it when Taiwan got into the VWP with US and not their passports. However, will this really help? Like the mod said, HK people have found much better places to get the same leisure at a fraction of the cost. Unless they really want to see something in the US, but just wanted to go to a nice beach and eat good food, plenty of other places to choose now.

It would probably allow HKers to give it a second thought. Most HKers are not used to getting visas, and as "simple" as it may, scheduling an interview etc may be enough to put off on the fence travelers.

Not to mention the cost of the visa application, which is considerable. If a deep-discount Y fare to JFK costs hkd8000 all in, the visa fee of hkd1200 is another 15% or so on top of that.

But the tourist visa is good for 10 years. It's not like you need to pay 15% surcharge per trip.

However, I do agree the process of interview is a pain. This is the most ridiculous part, and then it's not even guaranteed, you can be paying for nothing.

Not to mention Hawaii has similar climate to HK.
You forgot SIN for VWP nationals

Don't trust what the media is telling you unless you know exactly what happens.

First, read the actual amendment first:

http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/legi...RM13402%29.pdf

Don't get it? Basically it is a maneuver of technicality of the law.

In a simple way to explain - VWP allows citizens of certain countries travel to the U.S. visa-free. Hong Kong is not a country. So by the mean of the law, without the amendment, in order for the U.S. to grant Hong Kong People visa-free, the U.S. must grant People's Republic of China visa-free so that HKSAR Passport holders can get visa-free, and the U.K. Government must argue that for BN(O) Passport holders.

This amendment will allow Hong Kong to be considered as a "country" for the purpose of VWP. By then, Hong Kong can be considered individually (both HKSAR and BN(O)).

The law in fact does nothing on providing VWP to Hong Kong.

And FWIW - a lot of close U.S. allies (like Israel) are still not a VWP country yet. Do you really think the U.S. Government will give it out?

Beside - if you have read those so-called human rights report drafted by the U.S. State Department about Hong Kong, you know that the U.S. will use that for bargaining chip, and definitely it is something that Beijing does not want to see.