Category: Asia

Japan’s latest bullet train is not just faster and smoother. It is also loaded with safety features that can withstand most emergency situations. The N700S — the ‘S’ stands for ‘Supreme’ — entered into service on July 1 and serves the Tokaido Shinkansen line, which links Tokyo Station and Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka. It can run up to 360 kilometres per hour, a new record set during a test run in 2019, making it one of the fastest trains in the world. The operating speed, however, will be capped at 285 kilometres per hour, CNN reports. It’s the first new bullet train ... Read more

Even though the European Union (EU) announced on Tuesday that South Korea was on a list of 14 countries allowed to travel there, international travel still looks difficult. Anyone arriving in South Korea from overseas is required to undergo a strict two-week quarantine, either at home or at a government-run facility. They cannot leave their homes and are monitored by government officials, while those in hotels pay about US$100 per night, and there are no visits to cafés, bars, gyms or gardens. With few South Koreans spending more than one week on vacation, the burden of a two-week quarantine on ... Read more

Thailand has announced a new initiative “Rao Thieu Duaykan” (We Tour Together), created as a stimulus for domestic tourism. From July 15, Thai citizens can apply for a government subsidy to cover part of their hotel and dining expenses when travelling outside their home provinces. Those interested in the programme can participate through the Pao Tang app from July 15. Tourism operators can join now itself. About 22.4 billion baht will be used to fund the programme which will run until October. The money will subsidise five million hotel nights, with taxpayer money covering 40% of hotel rates up to ... Read more

Singapore’s Changi Airport is trialling and implementing a range of new anti-virus measures as it prepares for a gradual resumption of flights in the post Covid-19 outbreak world. Proximity touch check-in kiosks coated with anti-microbial disinfectants, new acrylic screens for counter staff, autonomous cleaning robots with misting attachments, and contactless toilets are just some of the measures, Bloomberg reports. One of the world’s busiest airports for international passenger traffic, Changi like most of its global peers has been brought to an almost complete standstill by the virus outbreak, which has decimated the tourism industry. In the first tentative steps toward ... Read more

Singapore has announced the gradual reopening of its tourism sector from today. In the initial phase, 13 attractions will be allowed to resume operations. Universal Studios Singapore, Madame Tussauds, Singapore Zoo, Bounce, Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay, Jurong Bird Park, River Safari, Zero Latency, Art Science Museum, Casino at Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, S.E.A. Aquarium, and Sands Sky Park and Observation Deck will reopen their doors for visitors in the first phase. In the beginning, most attractions will be restricted to no more than 25% of their operating capacity at one time. Access to the ... Read more

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has come on board to facilitate the development of a roadmap towards ‘Building a Safer and Resilient Tourism Sector in Sri Lanka: Post COVID-19’, to better assess the rapidly evolving pandemic and its crippling impact on the tourism sector.   This national roadmap is intended to catalyse the development of a framework to support the development of a new Strategic Plan and Vision for tourism 2021-2024. The first in a series of  consultations with development partners convened under the theme; ‘Putting People First: Building a more Resilient Tourism Sector in Sri Lanka’ was held on ... Read more

Various tourism associations in Malaysia are hoping that Putrajaya will reach an agreement with neighbouring Singapore and Brunei allowing unrestricted travel between the countries in order to boost local tourism, according to a report by Free Malaysia Today. Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Tan Kok Liang said domestic tourism alone was not enough to sustain the industry, and that opening the border with Singapore could help boost business. “Singapore is the top market for arrivals to Malaysia. We can start with business travel and move into leisure travel,” he told Free Malaysia Today (FMT), pointing out ... Read more

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said on Sunday that tourism businesses in Singapore will be permitted to resume operations in stages from July 1, starting with 13 attractions. STB will also allow domestic tour operators to begin submitting their applications to resume operations. This is part of the resumption of activities in Phase 2 after the circuit breaker, STB said. The following attractions, including selected components in the two integrated resorts (IRs), have submitted their reopening proposals. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and STB have carefully assessed their proposals and will allow them to reopen from July 1. The attraction ... Read more

Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha called on fellow ASEAN members to begin discussion about reopening certain limited lines of interregional travel, to begin the recovery from the pandemic’s impact on the regional economy. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional grouping that promotes economic, political, and security cooperation among its ten members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam   No specific time was mentioned around when such discussions would take place, but it was a significant first step to begin deeper discussions, as many ASEAN nations now have low to no active ... Read more

Losses suffered by Malaysia’s tourism sector has amounted to around RM45 billion, during the first half of this year. Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said tourism is one of the economic sectors hit the hardest by coronavirus, and is expected to be the last to recover. To fight the issue and to assist local tourism stakeholders, Nancy said a grant known as Galakan Melancong Malaysia (GAMELAN) will be extended, primarily for domestic promotion and marketing activities. “The ministry has also introduced a Special Fund for Tourism or SFT that supports the development of small and medium ... Read more

The tourism sectors of India, Indonesia and the Philippines are likely to be the laggards among countries trying to revive the travel industry, a report released by ANZ Research has said. Since most countries are now past the worst of their Covid-19 outbreak, restrictions on travel are being eased and appetite for travel would gradually return, the report said. But in the three aforementioned countries, the number of active coronavirus cases continue to rise, making recovery difficult. Tourism in the region is entering the recovery phase, but the pace of this recovery [would] depend on the evolution of the pandemic ... Read more

Russia’s Energia Space Corporation has said it will take a tourist on a space walk in 2023, under the terms of a new contract with a US partner. Energia has inked a contract with Space Adventures, which promises to take two space tourists to the International Space Station (ISS) that year.  “We plan that one of the participants of the expedition will do a space walk from the Russian segment, together with a professional Russian cosmonaut,” said Energia, which is part of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos. The announcement comes days after NASA signed a deal with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic ... Read more

One of Kazakhstan’s top ten travel destinations, the Balkhash Lake shoreline, will have a major “infrastructure renovation” finished by 2025. The Karaganda Region Akimat (administration) plans to build more than 20 new coastal recreation areas, to complete the repair of the Karaganda-Balkhash highway and to reconstruct the Balkhash city airport, the regional akimat’s press service has reported. Balkhash Lake is one of the largest lakes in Asia and one of the most unique features of the lake is its chemical composition. The western part of the reservoir has freshwater, while the eastern part is salty. The region attracts approximately 80,000 people ... Read more

Uzbekistan is initiating a unique approach to restore its tourism industry by paying tourists $3,000 if they contract COVID-19 while visiting. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed an official order regarding this. “These are additional measures for the development of tourism in strict compliance with enhanced sanitary and epidemiological security.” As part of this decree, businesses across the country were awarded additional privileges for reopening guide services and translators, who are now able to reinstate their services. The funds for the purpose will come from the “Uzbekistan. Safe Travel Guaranteed” initiative. The dollar amount is meant to be equal to the estimated cost ... Read more

More than 30% of civilian pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses and are not qualified to fly, the country’s aviation minister has revealed. Addressing Pakistan’s National Assembly, Ghulam Sarwar Khan said 262 pilots in the country “did not take the exam themselves” and had paid someone else to sit it on their behalf. “They don’t have flying experience,” he said. Pakistan has 860 active pilots serving its domestic airlines — including the country’s Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flagship — as well as a number of foreign carriers. PIA has grounded all its pilots who hold fake licenses, effective immediately. “PIA ... Read more