A group of Hong Kong tourists headed to Taiwan on Friday for the first time since the start of the pandemic, after the island eased Covid restrictions for travellers from the SAR.

Taiwan authorities announced earlier this month that Hong Kong people could visit in group tours and stay for a maximum of 15 days.

One such visitor, surnamed Lok, said the requirement for her to join a packaged tour means she needs to fork out more for the trip.

"We are the first to sign up for a group tour. We are meeting our friends in Taiwan, but we can't travel there individually. We have no choice but to join a group tour," she said.

Another tourist, surnamed Lee, said he didn’t mind the extra costs.

"Before Covid, we would spend around HK$6,000 in total, but the fee for the group tour this time is already about HK$5,000. I expect to spend more, and it's fine for me because we haven't gone overseas for two to three years," he said.

Eva Airways said as Hong Kong and Taiwan relax their Covid restrictions, it will operate more flights to cater for a surge in demand.