Tourism sector companies in Hong Kong are struggling to stay afloat due to a dearth of visitors to the city and will need more financial assistance from the government, the Travel Industry Council (TIC) warned on Thursday.

The body called for a HK$100 million recovery fund to help the industry cope with tourist numbers that are a far cry from those before the pandemic.

“In December, our outbound business was only around 30 percent of our pre-pandemic [level]. Having said that, it was already a Christmas peak," said the TIC's executive director Fanny Yeung.

"For inbound business it is even worse. In mid-January, there were just around 20,000 inbound visitors. Basically, it’s just less than one percent of pre-pandemic times.”

Yeung dismissed the idea of a rapid return to normality for the sector, noting that it will take time for airlines to ramp up their capacity.

"We are asking for subsidy funding from the government to help business rebound as we have been halted for three years," she said.

Yeung also urged the government to scrap the PCR testing requirement for cross-border travellers.