Category: Asia

For people stuck on either side of the Causeway, the possible resumption of cross-border travel between Singapore and Malaysia is cause for optimism, says a Straits Times report. The authorities of both countries agreed last week to restart cross-border travel for essential business and official travellers and long-term pass holders through two schemes: the reciprocal green lane and the periodic commuting arrangement. Though more details will be announced before these new travel schemes take effect on August 10, travellers will have to get swabbed for Covid-19 and submit their itineraries to the relevant authorities, the report says. Malaysian Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein ... Read more

The number of hotel room bookings under the “Rao Pai Tiew Gun” (Let’s travel together) campaign has reached 3.6 million. The campaign is one of the government’s tourism stimulus measures, providing a 40% discount per night (but not exceeding five nights) to 5 million travellers. Traisuree Taisaranakul, a deputy government spokeswoman, said that travellers are still booking hotels in the major tourism cities, most of them in the western and eastern regions, according to a report by Nation Thailand. People mostly booked hotels near the seaside for largely one-night stays. For slightly longer stays, people mostly booked hotels in the ... Read more

The Japanese government’s plan to revive domestic tourism has run into rough weather, just 48 hours before the launch of its new travel campaign. The campaign, Go To Travel, has been designed to give a helping hand to the pandemic-ravaged tourism industry but policymakers are unable to set details on the contentious subsidy programme with citizens pointing to possible health hazards, a Japan Times report says. The campaign is scheduled to start off from July 22. The programme subsidizes domestic travel in Japan, with the government providing up to half of the costs of travels. Each tourist can get a ... Read more

Saudi Arabia is sticking by its target of attracting 100 million visits by 2030 despite the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its fledgling tourism sector, Arab News has reported. Saudi Tourism Authority Adviser Mahmoud Abdulhadi said that about a half a million tourism visas had been issued between last autumn and the arrival of the pandemic in the Kingdom in the spring, which brought international air travel to a halt. “Whenever there is a crisis of sorts (such as the coronavirus pandemic), tourism is probably the first to suffer but also the first to rebound, so this gives ... Read more

Suvarnabhumi Airport is seeing an increase in passenger traffic after the government eased lockdown measures in the fifth phase that allowed domestic travel, Nation Thailand has reported. Wing Commander Suthirawat Suwanawat, general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said that from July 1-15, the airport had seen operation of 3,205 flights (1,604 incoming and 1,601 outgoing) or 214 flights per day on average. “The total number of passengers using the airport was 174,912 (85,758 incoming and 89,154 outgoing), or 11,661 passengers per day on average, which is a big jump from the previous months when the fifth phase of the easing of ... Read more

The two-day Malaysia Virtual Travel Expo 2020 starting from August 22 could help boost the country’s domestic tourism, said Tourism Malaysia Domestic and Events Division senior director Datuk Dr Ammar Abd Ghapar. According to an Edge Prop report, Ammar said the online expo using the e-commerce platform is targeting RM1.2 million in returns to benefit the 640,000 small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in the tourism industry. “It is designed so that they (entrepreneurs) will not be left behind when it comes to reaching out to potential customers and to conduct their business as usual,” he said during a press conference at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MATiC). He also hoped that all states would ... Read more

The Nepal government is planning to resume domestic and international flight operations from next month with the country making steady progress in its fight against the coronavirus outbreak. The Tourism Ministry is working on a tentative plan to start domestic flights from August 5 and international flights from August 17, an official close to tourism minister Yogesh Bhattarai told news agency PTI. The first round of flights will be to and from capital Kathmandu, he said. The number of active coronavirus cases in Nepal dropped to about 6,000 this week, while the recovery rate remains impressive at 66%. In total, the ... Read more

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) will enforce a new rule requiring all passengers, even on Thai-owned chartered flights or special flights transitioning through Thailand to have a valid Covid-19 clearance certificate, the Bangkok Post has reported. CAAT has prohibited all transit flights with Covid-19 infected passengers following China’s temporary ban of two Thai registered airlines after several passengers tested positive upon arrival in China. In both cases the flights only transited through Bangkok, and no passengers disembarked. The carriers, Thai AirAsia X and Thai Lion Air, were flying from Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur earlier this month and reportedly stopped ... Read more

The Commonwealth of Dominica is reopening its borders to foreign visitors starting August 7. Denise Charles, the minister of tourism, said all travellers are required to abide by new travel protocols while entering the country. Firstly, tourists and nationals must obtain a negative COVID-19 test (PCR) result recorded 24 to 72 hours before arriving in Dominica. Then, they need to complete an online questionnaire at least 24 hours in advance. Upon arrival, they will undergo a series of checks, including a rapid screening test. Should the passenger present any signals deemed unsafe, such as a positive test result, they will be quarantined at a government facility ... Read more

The government plans to begin a contentious travel initiative next week as planned, despite a resurgence in new coronavirus cases, by excluding hardest-hit Tokyo from the campaign. Trips by residents of Tokyo and journeys to and from the capital will be ineligible for the government’s subsidy program, which will begin on Wednesday in a bid to spur domestic travel, tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba told reporters. “We will commence the campaign, as we ask both the lodging industry and travellers to take measures to prevent the spread of the virus in the remaining 46 prefectures,” Akaba said. The government plans to ... Read more

Thailand’s medical tourism and wellness programs will go ahead despite the controversy swirling around two Covid-19 cases this week – in Bangkok and in Rayong. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says the Ministry of Public Health will announce a list of hospitals that pass its criteria next week, and the first group of medical tourists will be allowed to land in Thailand within the next 2 weeks. He says the program will be operated under strict guidelines, including ensuring general patients are safe and visitors are not allowed to enter public areas. The visitors, ... Read more

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has conducted India Luxury Virtual Connect (ILVC), India’s first ever virtual roadshow designed exclusively for leading travel partners across key metro cities to touch base with the Thai private sector. The first ever India Luxury Virtual Connect (ILVC) conducted on July 15 -16, witnessed participation from 28 Thai luxury sellers along with 130 travel agents across south-west India and another 130 agents from the north-east. ILVC was conceptualized and executed by BRANDit, the official representative firm of TAT’s Mumbai office. The ILVC interface, developed by Travel Gyan, is a virtual platform for leading travel partners ... Read more

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) is gearing up to set up branches across the island that will improve the services extended.  Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairperson Kimarli Fernando said that plans are afoot to have SLTDA branches in each of the provinces so that the needs and requirements of tourists are well looked after, Mirror Business has reported. “In the past, provinces worked separately, but now we are looking at an ‘all of the country’ approach for tourism. For this we are working closely with the provinces and the relevant authorities.  So far, the support extended for ... Read more

Thousands of Australians have been left in travel limbo in Bali after Indonesia announced that it will end emergency stay visas handed to foreigners at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Immigration has announced that the temporary visas many Australians have been using to stay on the island while the pandemic passes will end in just 30 days, Channel 9 News has reported. After that period, all foreigners without an authorised visa will need to leave Indonesia, unless there are no flights available to return to their home countries. That could mean the 3000 Australians tourists currently in Bali on emergency visas ... Read more

Sri Lanka’s second underwater museum has opened, off the Sandy Bay beach in Trincomalee. The island’s first ever underwater museum was inaugurated earlier this year in the Galle Harbour. The museum was built utilizing the manpower of the Sri Lanka Navy. All the statues placed here have been handmade by naval personnel and these unique sculptures have been produced from concrete and eco-friendly materials. The site will promote the formation of corals which will be an added feature with the passage of time. The museum has been set at a depth of around 60ft within an area of 150ft length and ... Read more