Category: Asia

The tourism industry in Japan is showing signs of a gradual pickup after the novel coronavirus crisis dealt it a severe blow. According to a Japan Times report, many lodging facilities that resumed business after the lifting of the government’s coronavirus state of emergency in May are seeing a gradual recovery in reservations this month, mainly from local customers. Financial aid from local governments for regional tourism has also contributed to a pickup in demand. However, inbound tourists from outside Japan remain almost non-existent, and concerns over a second wave of coronavirus infections linger. “Cancellations of domestic travel reservations have ... Read more

Myanmar is expecting to restart domestic tourism in the third quarter of this year, an official from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism told Xinhua on Saturday. Under the COVID-19 Tourism Relief Plan recently launched by the ministry, domestic tourism will resume soon to help the tourism sector recover. The tourism ministry and Religious Affairs and Culture Ministry are in talks to reopen the pagodas and cultural sites so as to restart domestic tourism very soon. By the fourth quarter of this year, Myanmar will restart travel with neighbouring countries such as Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, the official said. ... Read more

With planes grounded and most tourism on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, one Taiwanese airport has come up with a unique solution to help citizens get their travel fix. Taipei’s Songshan airport will give 90 people the chance to take a tour of their airport and relive the experience of going through immigration, boarding a plane and then disembarking and returning home, CNN has reported. “Can’t leave (Taiwan), then pretend to go abroad at Songshan,” a flier posted to the airport’s website read. Songshan is the smaller of Taipei’s two international airports and is located in the centre of the ... Read more

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has launched a new “Holiday at Home” campaign, with the  aim of encouraging residents to be a tourist of their own city and rediscover the beauty of Hong Kong with a new perspective.  HKTB Chairman Y K Pang said: “Due to the continued stringent travel restrictions and quarantine measures implemented by the Hong Kong Government and other governments around the world, the number of visitor arrivals to Hong Kong remains at a very low level. Provisional data show only around 8,100 arrivals in May, nearly a 100% decrease year on year. The HKTB’s strategy ... Read more

Sky watchers along a narrow band from West Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, India and southern China will witness the most dramatic “ring of fire” solar eclipse to shadow the Earth in years on Sunday. Annular eclipses occur when the Moon – passing between Earth and the Sun – is not quite close enough to our planet to completely obscure sunlight, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible. They occur every year or two, and can only be seen from a narrow pathway across the planet. The full eclipse will be visible somewhere on Earth for just under ... Read more

Earlier this week, Garuda Indonesia had announced that its flight attendants will forego wearing face masks, thereby attempting to go in a completely different direction to that of every other airline in the world. However, on Friday, the flag carrier said it is scrapping the plan. Garuda’s boss Irfan Setiaputra had previously announced that the airline was considering face shields as an alternative to masks to ensure that customers could see the facial expressions of the cabin crew. On Friday, however, Irfan said face shields “will not replace face masks but will complement them instead”. “We are evaluating the most ... Read more

Cambodia has imposed one of the toughest entry requirements of any country in the world, by imposing a hefty amount as Covid-19 fees. In its latest bulletin, the Foreign Office of Cambodia (FCO) has stated that foreign travellers must pay a $3,000 deposit as “COVID-19 service charges” at the airport upon their arrival. This “coronavirus deposit” can be paid in cash or by credit card. The FCO further said that after deductions have been made for services, the remaining deposit will be returned. But those deductions may be costly, especially if another passenger on the same flight happens to test positive for ... Read more

Japan’s tourism players are adopting new marketing strategies to remain relevant in the minds of travellers. From moving products online to introducing deals and greater flexibility in bookings, the stakeholders are trying their best to communicate with their potential visitors. For example, Shangri-La Hotel Tokyo has launched The Boutique, a website selling food, beauty products, bedding and other luxury items from the brand. The campaign is designed to keep the hotel, top of mind for visitors, until they feel ready to book again, according to a report in TTG Asia. True Japan Tours has also moved online to offer virtual ... Read more

Kazakhstan will resume flights to six countries, including some holiday hot-spots, starting from mid-June. Flights to Turkey, China, South Korea, Thailand, Georgia, and Japan will resume on June 20 in a safe manner, Kazakhstan Civil Aviation Committee said in a statement. ‘‘The number of flights on international routes will be operated based on existing intergovernmental agreements on air traffic and depend on the commercial loading of aircraft on each route,’’ the statement published on the committee’s website said.  Tickets for these flights will go on sale in accordance with the schedule published on the websites of airlines, Caspian News reported. ... Read more

Beijing has urged its residents to not leave the city and closed schools again as authorities scramble to contain a “severe” new coronavirus outbreak in the city of 21 million people. The coronavirus resurgence — believed to have started in the capital’s sprawling Xinfadi wholesale food market — has prompted alarm as China had largely brought its outbreak under control through mass testing and draconian lockdowns. The country had eased much of its anti-coronavirus measures in recent months as the government all but declared victory against the disease that emerged in the central city of Wuhan late last year. Fearing ... Read more

Thailand’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved three projects with a combined budget of more than 22 billion baht (USD 707 million) to help the country’s reeling tourism industry recover from the coronavirus crisis. The packages are meant to promote domestic travel from July to October. Tourism normally accounts for more than 10% of Thailand’s GDP. International flight arrivals were stopped in early April, drying up the market for foreign tourists. The biggest package, with an estimated cost of 18 billion baht (USD 579 million), will give travellers a 40% discount to a maximum value of 3,000 baht (USD 96) per night ... Read more

A total of 168 Indian nationals are returning from Maldives today via an Air India flight. The flight will land in two cities – Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru. Passengers had started gathering at Male airport since morning and thanked Indian government for its efforts to evacuate the Indian nationals, All India Radio (AIR) said in a report. Another two flights are scheduled in the next two days for Delhi, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar. The repatriation is being carried out in coordination with the Indian High Commission in Male. With this evacuation, over three and half thousand people would be brought back from Maldives ... Read more

All travellers entering Singapore from 11.59pm, June 17, will be tested for COVID-19, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has said. The test will be scheduled a few days before the end of the 14-day stay-home notice period, at an allotted testing facility, MOH said in a press release.  Each person under a stay-home notice will receive information on the scheduled appointment slot and venue via an SMS notification. All inbound and outbound travellers who enter or leave Singapore from 11.59pm on June 17 will also be required to pay for their COVID-19 tests, and those who are not Singaporeans or PRs entering the country will need to foot ... Read more

China has decided to introduce the Seventh Freedom of the Air on a trial basis in the Hainan Free Trade Port, in the southernmost tropical island province. This move allows foreign carriers to operate flights between two other countries, without the need to touch down in the airline’s home country, CGTN has reported. For example, under the Seventh Freedom, the US could operate flights directly from Haikou, the capital city of Hainan Province, to Tokyo, Japan, and Air France could transport passengers from Sanya, Hainan to Los Angeles, US. The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation ... Read more

Sri Lanka has cleared a proposal to offer concessionary loans to the hospitality and travel sector to pay salaries during the Coronavirus epidemic. Hotels and travel agencies, registered with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), would be allowed to get a 5-year loan at a 4% interest rate, to pay a Rs 20,000 salary to each worker for up to 6 months. The loan could be repaid in 5 years with a 2-year grace period, Economy Next has reported. Tourism related firms registered with the SLTDA including restaurants, spas, wellness centres would be given a credit facility to pay ... Read more