https://www.scmp.com/rss/509523/feed Latest news and updates about an air travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore. Hong Kong and Singapore agreed in principle to form a travel bubble late last year but it was postponed when Hong Kong was hit with a fourth wave of coronavirus infections. Talks have been revived with inoculation campaigns under way in both places. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Whether for business or pleasure, there’s an inevitable question that everyone asks when travelling to Singapore: where are we going to eat first? A hawker centre is the answer for most. Coming straight off the plane you immerse yourself in a steamy, fragrant maze of stalls and jostle for space as you enjoy great food such as char kway teow or nasi lemak. While that rightly still rings true, it pays to draw up a schedule for some fine dining and drinking. In post-pandemic Singapore, people who... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3185001/7-new-restaurants-and-bars-singapore-check-out-nobu-osteria?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3185001/7-new-restaurants-and-bars-singapore-check-out-nobu-osteria?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Jul 2022 10:15:24 +0000 Changi Airport in Singapore will reopen two of its terminals closed as a result of Covid-19 as travel springs back faster than expected. Terminal 4 will reopen in September while departure operations in the southern wing of Terminal 2 will restart from October, Changi Airport Group said in a statement on Friday. The moves will add operating capacity, allowing the airport to cope better with the influx of passengers as the northern hemisphere winter seasons gets under way. Singapore is welcoming... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3181236/singapores-changi-airport-reopen-terminals-travel-recovers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3181236/singapores-changi-airport-reopen-terminals-travel-recovers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jun 2022 09:04:58 +0000 Singapore and Hong Kong’s retail property segments are likely to see opposite fortunes this year, with the Lion City gaining an upper hand as it eases most Covid-19 restrictions and welcomes tourists back to its shores. Rents of retail properties in Singapore are likely to rise by 1 to 2 per cent this year, while Hong Kong will see a decline of between 5 and 15 per cent, according to analysts. The Southeast Asian financial hub has lifted travel curbs, done away with limits on gathering sizes,... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3177283/hong-kong-retail-rental-market-sink-while-singapores-swims-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3177283/hong-kong-retail-rental-market-sink-while-singapores-swims-thanks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 May 2022 23:30:23 +0000 The number of Hong Kong companies looking to hire offshore workers has risen following an outflow of expats leaving for Singapore, which scrapped its Covid-19 restrictions last month, and elsewhere. Hong Kong’s fifth and severest wave of Covid-19 infections led to the introduction of the city’s most stringent anti-epidemic measures, driving Hong Kong-based professionals to seek international opportunities, data from online recruitment platform Glints shows. It has also pushed firms in the city... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3173605/hong-kong-firms-seek-offshore-talent-some-expats-harried-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3173605/hong-kong-firms-seek-offshore-talent-some-expats-harried-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Apr 2022 02:00:22 +0000 For decades, Hong Kong and Singapore have provided a fascinating tale of two dynamic cities competing to become Asia’s premier financial and business centre, offering low tax rates, a pro-business climate and global connections as well as close links with China. For many cynics, though, there is a caveat when it comes to interpreting the success of the two cities: Singapore has thrived because of the government, while Hong Kong has done so despite it. This observation may sound simplistic and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3170154/hong-kong-needs-command-centre-fast-marshal-all-resources-against?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3170154/hong-kong-needs-command-centre-fast-marshal-all-resources-against?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Mar 2022 01:30:22 +0000 The number of foreigners entering Singapore from Hong Kong almost doubled from January to last month, according to latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), reinforcing reports of people fleeing the city for its rival financial hub. Singapore is among several destinations that have become a convenient bolthole for those seeking to ride out Hong Kong’s chaotic handling of the pandemic. Last month, there was a net outflow of 71,000 people from Hong Kong. The 1,790 foreigners arriving... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3170076/hong-kong-exodus-pushes-singapores-foreign-visitor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3170076/hong-kong-exodus-pushes-singapores-foreign-visitor?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Mar 2022 05:00:36 +0000 Peter Davies, a Hong Kong resident, travelled to Hawaii over Christmas last year to spend time with his Britain-based family, but soon found himself caught in a web of flight cancellations and logistical challenges that would keep him away from home. His initial plan to depart the American island on January 8 was derailed when the Hong Kong government banned flights from eight countries, including Australia, Britain, and the United States due to a surge in Covid-19 Omicron cases. On Friday, the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3166764/hongkongers-rue-cost-and-irony-washouts-return-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3166764/hongkongers-rue-cost-and-irony-washouts-return-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Feb 2022 08:00:19 +0000 Singapore reported its first two cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant on Thursday, joining the fast growing list of countries that have spotted the highly mutated form of the virus that was first documented in South Africa. The health ministry said both cases were imported; they had tested “preliminary positive” and been isolated upon arrival from Johannesburg on December 1. In neither case had the patient interacted with the community and there was no evidence of community transmission, the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3158200/omicron-singapore-reports-two-imported-cases-new-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3158200/omicron-singapore-reports-two-imported-cases-new-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Dec 2021 11:42:01 +0000 Singapore is still holding out hope for a travel bubble with Hong Kong, despite previous plans to launch one being foiled at the eleventh hour, the city state’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Wednesday. At the Asia Summit on Global Health on Wednesday, Ong sat on stage alongside Hong Kong’s Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee for a session on building resilient, equitable and effective long-term public health policy. Three other panellists joined in virtually. Ong... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3157188/singapore-hong-kong-travel-bubble-city-state-still?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3157188/singapore-hong-kong-travel-bubble-city-state-still?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Nov 2021 07:17:38 +0000 It seems it is Hong Kong’s fate to always be compared with Shanghai to the north, and Singapore to the south. Looking north, Shanghai is larger and more deeply embedded in the nation’s political and social fabric. Hong Kong has the freedom of manoeuvre that distance and a separate constitutional arrangement can bring. Looking south, Singapore as a sovereign country is autonomous so can be more decisive and bold, but it lacks a proper hinterland. Hong Kong has to keep in mind national priorities... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3152489/unlike-singapore-hong-kong-might-be-stuck-zero-covid-even-if-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3152489/unlike-singapore-hong-kong-might-be-stuck-zero-covid-even-if-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Oct 2021 06:39:06 +0000 Hong Kong is “no longer in travel talks” with other places because of differences in approach to containing Covid-19, the city’s health minister has revealed. Sophia Chan Siu-chee on Saturday said the government was still aiming to strike a balance between residents’ expectation of “zero infections”, while avoiding becoming “completely cut off” from the outside world. The long-awaited travel bubble with Singapore was ditched for good on Thursday, after the city state moved towards a policy of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3145883/coronavirus-hong-kong-no-longer-travel-bubble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3145883/coronavirus-hong-kong-no-longer-travel-bubble?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Aug 2021 06:14:50 +0000 Hong Kong revealed on Thursday that a joint decision with Singapore to drop all plans for a much-anticipated travel bubble was based on their differing approaches to the Covid-19 pandemic, a development that tourism figures said reflected the increasing challenges of striking such deals. But the city state will begin admitting short-term visitors from Hong Kong and Macau without requiring them to quarantine starting on August 26, despite the measure not being reciprocated. Singapore citizens,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3145691/hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble-differing-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3145691/hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble-differing-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Aug 2021 13:46:34 +0000 Singapore will begin admitting travellers from Hong Kong and Macau without quarantining them even though the measure will not be reciprocated, officials said on Thursday, as they added that discussions on a travel bubble would no longer take place. The unilateral admission of visitors from Hong Kong and Macau starting on Thursday, August 26, without quarantine is part of a months-old scheme currently extended to mainland China, Taiwan and New Zealand. Singapore citizens, permanent residents and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3145652/singapore-removes-quarantine-hong-kong-macau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3145652/singapore-removes-quarantine-hong-kong-macau?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Aug 2021 10:34:45 +0000 More than 1,000 Hongkongers set off on Friday night aboard the city’s first-ever “cruise to nowhere”, with a top official hailing the high-seas jaunt as a step towards “bringing back normality”. Some passengers were so keen to travel again that one claimed he went ahead with Covid-19 vaccination – a requirement for all on board – even though he had long-term illnesses. Other excited guests were seen boarding the vessel hours before its departure. Commerce minister Edward Yau Tang-wah earlier... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3143148/coronavirus-hong-kong-first-ever-cruise-nowhere?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3143148/coronavirus-hong-kong-first-ever-cruise-nowhere?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jul 2021 06:19:19 +0000 Fresh lockdowns and restrictions in Asia brought on by the faster-spreading Delta coronavirus variant are making the region’s pursuit of travel bubbles look like an increasingly fruitless endeavour. Air travel bubbles, corridors that allow movement between countries without the need for quarantine, have largely been a letdown as nations pull up the drawbridge again to contain outbreaks. A travel link between Singapore and Hong Kong, first mooted last year, has never actually opened. Meanwhile,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3142198/asias-planned-travel-bubbles-burst-delta-variant-some?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3142198/asias-planned-travel-bubbles-burst-delta-variant-some?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Jul 2021 04:15:23 +0000 The much-delayed travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore will be subject to further review in late August as conditions for launching the quarantine-free arrangement are still unsuitable. A Hong Kong government spokesman said on Tuesday that the two sides were reviewing the pandemic situation, highlighting the recent surge in Covid-19 infections in the city state. “The condition for launching the air travel bubble cannot be met for the time being,” he said. “Both sides agreed that a review... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3141813/singapore-hong-kong-travel-bubble-late-august?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3141813/singapore-hong-kong-travel-bubble-late-august?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jul 2021 09:00:04 +0000 I would like to express my clear disappointment with local legislators’ knee-jerk reaction to Singaporean ministers talking about “living with Covid”, which occupied much media space on Saturday. I am sure our legislators have not tried to carefully glean information about the actual Covid-19 situation in Singapore. First of all, social-distancing measures there right now are overall sterner than in Hong Kong. Second, the vaccination rate in Singapore is far higher – people who have received a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3141173/singapore-bubble-dont-slam-living-covid-raise-hong-kong-vaccines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3141173/singapore-bubble-dont-slam-living-covid-raise-hong-kong-vaccines?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jul 2021 22:50:16 +0000 Asian air travel may take another three years to recover fully from the devastation wrought by the pandemic, lagging behind rebounds in other regions and offering a stern headwind for refiners making jet fuel. It will take until 2024 for international air travel across the region to reach pre-virus levels, a year after global traffic hits that milestone, according to the International Air Transport Association. Similarly, consultancy Energy Aspects says jet fuel consumption will reach... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3141168/asian-air-travel-could-take-three-years-recover-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3141168/asian-air-travel-could-take-three-years-recover-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jul 2021 02:54:51 +0000 Negotiations between Hong Kong and Singapore over their much-delayed travel bubble are being hobbled by disagreements over antibody tests and vaccination rules against Covid-19, the Post has learned. Sources familiar with the discussions on Tuesday said it was proposed that a unilateral decision by Hong Kong to require all of its residents to have had two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine at least a fortnight before departure be extended to Singaporeans. Under the bubble, travellers from both cities... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3140989/travel-bubble-trouble-hong-kong-singapore-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3140989/travel-bubble-trouble-hong-kong-singapore-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jul 2021 14:18:31 +0000 Hong Kong should scrap plans for the long-awaited travel bubble with Singapore given the city state’s recent strategy shift to “live” with Covid-19, lawmakers have said. The high-profile calls by pro-establishment legislators in a Legislative Council meeting on Friday to ditch the quarantine-free travel arrangement, which had already suffered two delays due to the pandemic situation in both places, came as Hong Kong’s health minister confirmed BioNTech jabs would continue to be available to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3140498/coronavirus-scrap-travel-bubble-plans-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3140498/coronavirus-scrap-travel-bubble-plans-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jul 2021 08:41:34 +0000 A debate over the efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine is emerging between Hong Kong and Singapore, adding another layer of uncertainty to the long-awaited travel bubble between the two cities. Professor Wallace Lau Chak-sing, convenor of Hong Kong’s advisory panel on coronavirus vaccines, on Thursday defended the efficacy of the mainland China-produced jabs, a day after the city state took issue with the lack of data about their effectiveness against the Delta variant. Hong Kong, where about 701,700... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3140292/hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble-will-sinovacs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3140292/hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble-will-sinovacs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jul 2021 06:21:50 +0000 Hong Kong will look into how a change in Singapore’s strategy for tackling the coronavirus may affect the quarantine-free travel bubble between the two destinations, and whether a vaccination requirement should be extended to visitors from the city state as a result, the chief executive has said. City leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday said Singapore was still the government’s top candidate for a bilateral travel corridor, which she pledged to finally launch – after two previous failed... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3140046/singapores-plans-reopening-could-complicate-long?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3140046/singapores-plans-reopening-could-complicate-long?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jul 2021 11:04:27 +0000 The ever-evolving Covid-19 pandemic poses a quandary to governments wanting to reopen economies to the world. New strains that make the disease more dangerous or virulent require a rethink of strategies. Hong Kong, several times on the verge of a travel bubble with Singapore and in talks with the mainland and Macau, should be patient and not get its hopes overly high. Ultimately, it is only when vaccination takes hold and herd immunity has been attained that we should expect freedom to go where... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3139909/resumption-travel-hinges-reaching-herd-immunity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3139909/resumption-travel-hinges-reaching-herd-immunity?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jul 2021 12:47:04 +0000 Health officials have reclassified a hotel cleaner’s coronavirus infection as linked to an imported one, meaning Hong Kong’s run of zero local Covid-19 cases, now at 28 days, remains intact. The city confirmed just one imported Covid-19 infection on Monday, an arrival from Britain, while a local health expert warned that a plan by Singapore to shift away from a zero-case strategy could leave Hong Kong exposed to a higher risk of variant strains when its long-awaited travel bubble with the city... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3139829/coronavirus-singapore-moves-towards-new-normal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3139829/coronavirus-singapore-moves-towards-new-normal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jul 2021 04:57:10 +0000 Vaccinated Singaporeans may be able to undertake quarantine-free leisure travel to Europe and the United States by the end of the year, according to the island nation’s health minister Ong Ye Kung, who says Hong Kong and Singapore are now “in a good position” to reconsider their twice-postponed travel bubble. In a Thursday interview with The Straits Times, Ong said he shared the aspirations of residents who hoped to go on holiday by year-end to places where the Covid-19 pandemic was on a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3139492/bye-jinxed-travel-bubble-hello-air-travel-corridor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3139492/bye-jinxed-travel-bubble-hello-air-travel-corridor?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jul 2021 12:20:52 +0000 Singapore pips Hong Kong in quarantine facilities for visitors and returnees, an advantage that gives the city state the edge in resuming business travels to kick start the local economy. One in every four Singapore hotels is usable as a facility for so-called stay-home notices (SHN), compared with one in 10 in Hong Kong, according to tourism and government officials of both cities. In absolute terms, Singapore’s SHN facilities are more than double the number of Hong Kong’s quarantine venues,... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3137855/coronavirus-quarantine-singapore-pips-hong-kong-quantity-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3137855/coronavirus-quarantine-singapore-pips-hong-kong-quantity-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Jun 2021 03:30:00 +0000 Thailand’s plan to reopen the tourist haven of Phuket could become a model for other holiday hotspots in Asia to prise open their borders and bring in visitors as strategies such as travel bubbles falter, according to the founder of Banyan Tree Holdings. Tourism-reliant Thailand aims to allow quarantine-free travel to its prime destination from July 1 for the first time in more than a year, provided visitors are inoculated against Covid-19 and aren’t coming from high-risk countries. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3137462/coronavirus-thailands-phuket-reopening-plan-holds-model?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3137462/coronavirus-thailands-phuket-reopening-plan-holds-model?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Jun 2021 04:29:53 +0000 Hong Kong and Singapore will review plans for a long-awaited travel bubble early next month, and despite the city state making progress in taming a resurgence of Covid-19 cases, both governments say they will proceed cautiously towards launching the quarantine-free scheme. Hong Kong commerce chief Edward Yau Tang-wah had been regularly in touch with his counterpart in the city state, a government spokesman said on Thursday, adding that both administrations were closely monitoring the Covid-19... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3136779/hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble-early-july-review-set?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3136779/hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble-early-july-review-set?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jun 2021 09:10:12 +0000 As Singapore approaches the end of a month-long period of tightened social distancing measures, the big questions on many minds are whether restrictions will be loosened after June 13 and whether a long-awaited travel bubble with Hong Kong can finally begin. But health care experts, while pointing to positive signs such as a tapering of new cases and more proactive surveillance of high-risk groups, believe measures will be loosened only gradually. Dr Dale Fisher, professor at the National... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3136668/coronavirus-singapore-should-expect-gradual-reopening?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3136668/coronavirus-singapore-should-expect-gradual-reopening?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jun 2021 11:05:25 +0000 More than a year since the World Health Organization designated the Covid-19 outbreak a pandemic, the global economy is still working through the consequences. While the US and Europe are reopening and their consumers are rightfully happy to gather and enjoy themselves again, the story is very different in Asia. In the past two months, Hong Kong has done well keeping local infections at bay. However, India has experienced devastating infection numbers and deaths, with its health care system... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3134926/time-asia-ditch-temporary-covid-19-measures-and-learn-live-virus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3134926/time-asia-ditch-temporary-covid-19-measures-and-learn-live-virus?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 May 2021 06:30:10 +0000 The quarantine-free travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore has been postponed again. The Lion City is the new trigger after its coronavirus cases surged sharply. It is the second delay after the scheme was supposed to launch last November. There has been disappointment on either side, as this scheme was supposed be the model of post-pandemic tourism revival, and authorities hoped to extend such measures to more destinations to boost the tourism sector. However, Singapore is not the most... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3134652/singapore-travel-bubble-why-many-hongkongers-have-bigger-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3134652/singapore-travel-bubble-why-many-hongkongers-have-bigger-concerns?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 May 2021 23:00:19 +0000 Remain at home and leave the house only if it’s essential. Wear a good mask with high filtration capability. Get vaccinated when your turn comes. These exhortations from Singapore’s health authorities underscore how seriously they are treating the current spike in local infections, even though the outbreak is smaller than the one last year involving dormitories housing low-wage migrant workers, and less severe compared to the daily caseload of its Southeast Asian neighbours. At the heart of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3134497/far-out-woods-how-covid-19-variant-put-singapore-back?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3134497/far-out-woods-how-covid-19-variant-put-singapore-back?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 May 2021 03:45:05 +0000 The long-awaited travel bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong has been put on hold indefinitely for a second time amid a sharp resurgence in untraceable Covid-19 cases in the city state, the two governments have said. Monday’s decision to suspend the quarantine-free corridor, which had been set to launch on May 26, followed a morning meeting between Hong Kong commerce chief Edward Yau Tang-wah and Singapore transport minister S. Iswaran. A further announcement on when to resume the launch of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3133775/coronavirus-hong-kong-singapore-pull-plug-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3133775/coronavirus-hong-kong-singapore-pull-plug-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 May 2021 08:06:45 +0000 Singapore’s health ministry on Sunday preliminarily confirmed 38 locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, the highest daily number in more than a year, as the city state returned to the strictest curbs on gatherings since a coronavirus lockdown last year. Of the new cases, 18 are currently unlinked, the health ministry’s preliminary report said. In addition, there were 11 imported cases, who had already been placed on stay-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore. Five of them were returning... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3133653/singapore-and-taiwan-tighten-travel-between-each-other-both?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3133653/singapore-and-taiwan-tighten-travel-between-each-other-both?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 May 2021 03:32:01 +0000 Caution has to always be the basis of the Hong Kong government’s strategy to stave off the Covid-19 pandemic. Authorities thankfully seem to be doing that with the city’s first travel bubble, scheduled to begin with Singapore on May 26. Commerce minister Edward Yau Tang-wah suggested on Friday that the scheme was likely to be postponed for a second time in the face of a recent surge of cases in the island nation and a final decision could be made next week. Some people are eager to break the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3133579/everyone-has-play-coronavirus-rules-if-normality-be-finally?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3133579/everyone-has-play-coronavirus-rules-if-normality-be-finally?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 May 2021 21:50:48 +0000 Hong Kong’s long-awaited travel bubble with Singapore is most likely to be postponed for a second time, with a top official warning of a “high chance” that the quarantine-free scheme will not be launched on May 26 as the city state battles a surge in coronavirus cases. Edward Yau Tang-wah, Hong Kong’s secretary for commerce and economic development, on Friday said he had been in touch with his Singaporean counterpart for updates on the country’s Covid-19 situation. Yau said he would talk to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3133443/singapore-hong-kong-travel-bubble-likely-be-delayed-after-spike?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3133443/singapore-hong-kong-travel-bubble-likely-be-delayed-after-spike?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 May 2021 04:37:19 +0000 Singapore confirmed 24 locally-transmitted Covid-19 cases on Thursday, the largest daily jump since July last year, with infections linked to a cluster at Changi Airport ballooning to 46. Four of the 24 cases could not be traced, health authorities said. This brings the seven-day moving average of unlinked cases in the country to 2.14 – the highest since the quarantine-free air travel bubble with Hong Kong was announced on April 27. Hong Kong’s stands at 0.14. Under the arrangement, the travel... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3133370/singapore-reports-24-covid-19-cases-hong-kong-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3133370/singapore-reports-24-covid-19-cases-hong-kong-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 May 2021 10:31:53 +0000 Hong Kong will launch its quarantine-free travel bubble with Singapore as scheduled on May 26 despite sporadic local coronavirus infections, the city’s commerce minister has said. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah offered the reassurance as Hong Kong confirmed two new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday. One involved a domestic helper arriving from the Philippines and the other a 42-year-old man linked to a local cluster of variant infections connected to a 30-year-old... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3133179/coronavirus-hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3133179/coronavirus-hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 May 2021 08:06:07 +0000 When Singapore went into lockdown in April 2020, businesses not offering essential services closed for two months. While life in Singapore has since returned to some semblance of normality – save for a recent flare-up in cases and resulting retightening of restrictions – the business environment remains challenging because of social distancing measures and a lack of visitors to the city. But Singaporeans are a resilient lot, and some opened new ventures during these tough times. The three listed... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3132611/singapore-travel-bubble-3-new-hotspots-draw-lion-citys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3132611/singapore-travel-bubble-3-new-hotspots-draw-lion-citys?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 May 2021 04:45:13 +0000 Andrew Li, 38, is looking forward to June. His father, who lives in Hong Kong, is set to visit Singapore if quarantine-free travel between both air hubs begins on May 26 as planned. It will herald a reunion for most of the Li family, who have remained either in Singapore or Hong Kong without seeing each other since the Covid-19 pandemic erupted last year. Li, the CEO of Zouk Group, said his mother and brother are now planning a series of family dinners, but like hundreds of others eager to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3132630/singapore-tightens-coronavirus-curbs-families-hope-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3132630/singapore-tightens-coronavirus-curbs-families-hope-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 May 2021 07:12:44 +0000 Singapore will impose a 21-day quarantine on most inbound travellers and bring back tighter social-distancing controls including closing gyms and fitness centres, as authorities respond to a flare-up in Covid-19 cases. The news has put a cloud over the city state’s efforts to launch a travel bubble with Hong Kong later this month and host major events like the Shangri-La Dialogue in June. From Friday 11.59pm, all inbound travellers except those from Australia, Brunei, mainland China, New... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3132235/singapore-imposes-21-day-quarantine-most-travellers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3132235/singapore-imposes-21-day-quarantine-most-travellers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 May 2021 10:57:41 +0000 Hong Kong Disneyland expects that its business and the city’s tourism sector as a whole are in for a slow recovery, even with a much-awaited travel bubble with Singapore due to be relaunched in May. Michael Moriarty, Hong Kong Disneyland’s managing director, made the prediction in a meeting with members of the press on Thursday, his first since taking over the leadership role in December. “It’s a sign that tourism and business travel back to Hong Kong and between Singapore [and the city] is... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3131959/hong-kong-disneyland-preparing-slow-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3131959/hong-kong-disneyland-preparing-slow-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 May 2021 23:00:23 +0000 Will it or won’t it open in May? The Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble has long been discussed – and last November was just hours from being opened, before Covid-19 snatched it away – and there’s no harm in hoping that, this time, it will inflate. To whet your appetite for what’s likely to be Hong Kong’s first getaway, here’s a rundown of the best the Lion City has to offer in unusual guided tours. Exploring the Abandoned World War II Marsiling Bunkers “Trust me, this tree root will support you... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3131404/travel-bubble-explore-singapores-red-light-district?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3131404/travel-bubble-explore-singapores-red-light-district?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 May 2021 05:15:14 +0000 After months of reporting few if any locally transmitted cases, Singapore has in recent weeks seen reinfections among migrant workers who had previously recovered from Covid-19, as well as reports of people catching the coronavirus despite being vaccinated against it. A new infection cluster emerged in a public hospital this week involving 13 health care workers and patients, while seven other local cases have been linked to an airport immigration officer. This Week In Asia spoke to doctors and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3131832/singapores-covid-19-hospital-cluster-reinfected-migrant-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3131832/singapores-covid-19-hospital-cluster-reinfected-migrant-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 May 2021 00:30:13 +0000 Full vaccination will be the baseline for Hong Kong residents hoping to take part in future travel bubbles, the city’s commerce minister has said, as flights for a new quarantine-free corridor with Singapore were rapidly filling up on Tuesday. Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah said future discussions on travel-bubble arrangements with other countries would be premised on outbound local travellers having had two coronavirus vaccine jabs.  Hong Kong confirmed... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3131241/coronavirus-vaccinations-must-future-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3131241/coronavirus-vaccinations-must-future-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Apr 2021 06:02:17 +0000 Banker Matthew Kong has an inkling where his Hong Kong friends will want to visit when the travel bubble with Singapore opens on May 26. Beyond the usual tourist attractions, he said parents like him actually enjoy the city state’s Popular bookstore. “The exercise books and textbooks are of high standards thus the ‘tiger mums and tiger dads’ will come and get different types of materials,” said the father of two, referring to the term “tiger parenting” where parents push their children to attain... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3131175/travel-bubble-what-can-hong-kong-visitors-do-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3131175/travel-bubble-what-can-hong-kong-visitors-do-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Apr 2021 01:00:15 +0000 The easing of travel restrictions announced by the government on Monday marked another milestone in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. The long-awaited quarantine waivers for Hongkongers returning from more mainland provinces as well as travelling to and from Singapore would not have been possible without concerted efforts to contain infections. Hopefully, the new arrangements can be extended to more places in the region and even beyond. That it has taken so long for the Hong... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3131191/hong-kongs-easing-rules-travel-hopeful-sign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3131191/hong-kongs-easing-rules-travel-hopeful-sign?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Apr 2021 18:12:10 +0000 Hong Kong’s struggling tourism industry may not immediately reap the rewards of the long-awaited travel bubble with Singapore next month, officials said on Monday, citing a limited supply of air tickets. However, lawmakers welcomed the move, which they said was a good start towards boosting the flagging economies of both cities. Following the announcement of the quarantine-free arrangement earlier in the day, members of Hong Kong’s tourism industry said it might take about a month for travel... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3131171/hong-kong-tourism-officials-welcome-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3131171/hong-kong-tourism-officials-welcome-singapore?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Apr 2021 13:59:06 +0000 It’s finally happening. What are the details? Quarantine-free travel between Singapore and Hong Kong will begin on Wednesday, May 26 for travellers irrespective of nationality who have remained in either city for 14 consecutive days before their date of departure. The 14 days will exclude any compulsory quarantine period. The bubble starts with one flight a day from each city carrying up to 200 travellers per flight. From June 10, this will be increased to two flights a day from the two cities... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3131081/hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble-start-may-26-all-you-need?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3131081/hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble-start-may-26-all-you-need?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Apr 2021 06:05:59 +0000 Hong Kong and Singapore will launch their long-postponed travel bubble from May 26, allowing quarantine-free entry as both sides have made sufficient progress in containing their Covid-19 outbreaks to deem it safe enough for their residents.   Announcing the arrangements on Monday, officials said Hong Kong would still require its residents, as an added safety precaution, to have received their second vaccine dose two weeks before departing for Singapore, which would not impose a similar rule on... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3131053/coronavirus-hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3131053/coronavirus-hong-kong-singapore-travel-bubble?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Apr 2021 03:34:17 +0000