According to the Global Covid-19 Index, which scores how well 184 countries are coping with the pandemic, Thailand has cause for celebration; the Southeast Asian nation currently occupies second spot in the rankings, behind Denmark. But the Land of Smiles should have been smiling for very different reasons, as 2020 was supposed to mark the 60th anniversary of its lucrative tourism industry. It was expecting 42 million international arrivals to stream in, spending US$77 billion while they were there. Instead, it is expected that up to one-third of the nation’s travel sector might disappear completely. In July, the president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, Chairat Trirattanajarasporn, told Bangkok-based digital newspaper The Nation: “The council estimates that in the next three months up to 30 per cent of tourism-related businesses are at risk of shutting down permanently.” If true, that could mean mass unemployment affecting millions. There was some hope that travel bubbles – quarantine-free corridors between countries deemed low-risk – might mitigate the effects of a tourism downturn. In June, a South China Morning Post article stated that “ talks on establishing a so-called travel bubble ” between Hong Kong and Thailand were expected to start “within the next fortnight”. And just last month, the Bangkok Post reported that a plan had been drafted that would allow 1,000 arrivals a day from China, Japan and Taiwan to explore the “low-risk” regions of Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Krabi, Phuket and Pattaya. Coronavirus ‘travel bubbles’ must be rooted in science, not politics Needless to say, like the tenuous globules they are named after, those travel bubbles burst – external pressures proved too much. On August 6, Reuters reported that Thailand had put its plans to create any travel bubbles on hold. “We are delaying discussion of travel bubble arrangements for now given the outbreak situation in other countries,” Taweesin Wisanuyothin, the country’s coronavirus task force spokesman, told the news agency. Rising Covid-19 case numbers across Asia have all but popped the prospects of regional travel resuming in the near future. Speaking to United States broadcaster Voice of America last month, Ken Atkinson, vice-chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, said: “We’re looking at some time into next year before we can really see non-quarantine travel from anywhere.” He was echoed by Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, who suggested during a recent webinar that the country would remain closed to international arrivals until 2021. “I see no signal from the government that the country will open this year […] The Christmas period, usually the high season, is in jeopardy and I’m looking horribly even to Chinese New Year, in February, which is an iffy proposition at best now,” he said. “Unfortunately, this is not a rosy picture.” In Europe, which blazed the summer’s travel bubble trail, border controls between Schengen countries were largely lifted and even Brexit Britain got a look in, sending sun-seeking citizens to Spain and beyond. But restrictions are being reimposed as infections spike in France, Germany, Greece and elsewhere, exposing the risks of opening up and encouraging people to flow freely. In New Zealand, where a cluster of cases in Auckland recently emerged after more than 100 days without community transmission, talks of a travel bubble with Australia were paused amid a resurgence in the Aussie state of Victoria. So, it doesn’t look like we’ll be going anywhere for a little while. Unless, that is, your desire to travel outweighs the reality of a 14-day quarantine on your return and you can get to the Maldives, which is ready to welcome you with open arms. Ovolo hotels offer ‘quarantine concierge’ service to returning Hongkongers Should you require somewhere to self-isolate on your return to Hong Kong, home-grown hotel brand Ovolo has launched a “quarantine concierge” service at Ovolo Central and Ovolo Southside to help ease citizens through their confinement. As well as gym gear, a mindfulness kit, daily breakfast, a sundowner cocktail and a potted plant to look after (and talk to, if it comes to it), quarantiners will be assigned a dedicated attendant, who will do a “daily essential run” to acquire whatever they desire, be it a book or a pair of socks. To help celebrate the end of isolation, Ovolo is throwing in a complimentary bottle of cava. Nightly rates start at HK$900. In Taiwan, sightseeing flights take off – and sell out Meanwhile, in Taiwan, airlines have started to offer sightseeing flights. On August 8, an Eva Air flight took off from Taipei and headed to Japan’s Ryukyu Islands before circling back. Economy-class tickets for the two-hour, 45-minute journey cost NT$5,288 (HK$1,390), according to Channel News Asia. China Airlines offered a similar experience, with a course teaching children the basics of becoming a flight attendant. Both airlines have additional flights planned, all of which are reportedly sold out. Explaining his motivation for joining China Airlines’ trip to nowhere with his wife and daughter, Cheng Yu-wei told Channel News Asia: “Maybe it’s because we have been bored for too long.”