https://www.scmp.com/rss/509525/feed Latest news and updates about destinations in Asia forming travel bubbles to aid the recovery of travel and tourism in the region, which has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Almost three years ago, as Covid-19 was sweeping across the world and we were spiralling into the worst global pandemic seen in a century, I wrote here in the Post that “some practical and globally agreed ground rules are urgently overdue”. A couple of months later, with no vaccines yet in sight, I listed several lessons that I thought we had learned: that international cooperation and a unified approach were essential; that science had to lead our response; that large amounts of pre-emptive... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3210739/sad-state-global-cooperation-bodes-ill-next-pandemic-can-asia-set-better-example?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3210739/sad-state-global-cooperation-bodes-ill-next-pandemic-can-asia-set-better-example?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Feb 2023 09:30:09 +0000 Foreign bankers and finance executives attending Hong Kong’s biggest summit in three years will not be subject to certain pandemic restrictions for regular arrivals and will be free to eat and mingle in private settings in restaurants, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. While overseas attendees of the Global Financial Leaders’ Summit, scheduled for November 1 through 3, will not be subject to the Hong Kong government’s amber code restrictions during the three-day medical... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3196671/overseas-bankers-attending-hkma-summit-be-exempt-some-pandemic-restrictions-can-mingle-privately?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3196671/overseas-bankers-attending-hkma-summit-be-exempt-some-pandemic-restrictions-can-mingle-privately?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Oct 2022 14:16:50 +0000 Tourism in Asia-Pacific will not see a recovery until 2024 as China’s borders remain closed, keeping an estimated 140 million visitors from travelling within the region, according to analysts. In 2019, before the Covid-19 outbreak, 154.6 million mainland Chinese travelled outside the country, according to the World Bank. They accounted for 40 per cent of tourists within Asia-Pacific before the pandemic, according to property consultancy JLL. “Recovery in the hospitality region is being delayed... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3194274/asia-pacific-tourism-wont-recover-until-2024-absence-mainland-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3194274/asia-pacific-tourism-wont-recover-until-2024-absence-mainland-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Sep 2022 10:42:41 +0000 Hotels are gearing up for a recovery in Asia’s travel industry as countries begin to roll back Covid-19 restrictions, with companies and even government agencies ramping up marketing campaigns. However, with China’s borders still closed, a full recovery in the Asia-Pacific tourism industry remains a distant prospect, with China accounting for more than 40 per cent of all tourists in the region historically, according to an analyst at real estate firm JLL. Hotels have been one of the hardest-hit... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3184103/hotels-set-recovery-asia-pacific-borders-reopen-chinas-decision-remain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3184103/hotels-set-recovery-asia-pacific-borders-reopen-chinas-decision-remain?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Jul 2022 23:30:20 +0000 Hotel companies and investors were likely to reduce investments in mainland China in the coming years, despite the number of hotels currently under construction reaching a record high in the first quarter of 2022, because of the country’s Covid-19 measures, analysts said. In the January to March period, China’s total hotel construction pipeline stood at 3,711 hotel projects and 704,101 rooms, higher by 8 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively, from a year ago, according to data provider Lodging... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3179823/chinas-strict-covid-19-curbs-roadblock-growing-investment-hotels-sector?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3179823/chinas-strict-covid-19-curbs-roadblock-growing-investment-hotels-sector?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jun 2022 01:30:19 +0000 Will the reopening of Lok Ma Chau, Sha Tau Kok and the other crossing points on Hong Kong’s border with Shenzhen in mainland China – whenever it happens – be quite so euphoric as the restoration of the land links between Singapore and Malaysia? At midnight on March 31, the causeway and bridge that link the two countries – normally used by about 400,000 people daily – reopened, allowing vaccinated people to cross without having to test or quarantine. The connections were fully opening for the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3173131/singapore-malaysia-border-fully-reopens-how?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3173131/singapore-malaysia-border-fully-reopens-how?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Apr 2022 00:45:11 +0000 A multilayered ownership controversy over Malaysia’s Covid-19 tracking application marred what would have been a week to remember for Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government as the country allows quarantine-free travel to all vaccinated travellers. After a trying two years of the health crisis, the reopening has been highly anticipated by citizens and officials alike, with Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin taking to social media to welcome foreign arrivals. At home, however, the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3172842/malaysias-travel-reopening-cheer-tainted-controversy-over-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/3172842/malaysias-travel-reopening-cheer-tainted-controversy-over-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Apr 2022 03:30:19 +0000 Known as the “grand old dame”, The Peninsula Hong Kong has withstood several tumultuous periods throughout its more than 90-year history. But the Covid-19 pandemic is the toughest challenge the iconic hotel and its operator have faced yet, a top executive said. The past two years have been tough for Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels (HSH), which currently owns and operates 10 Peninsula hotels in Asia, the United States and Europe. The company reported losses of HK$1.94 billion (US$248 million) in... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3171053/peninsula-has-been-through-sars-and-asian-financial-crisis-covid-19-among?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3171053/peninsula-has-been-through-sars-and-asian-financial-crisis-covid-19-among?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Mar 2022 02:00:21 +0000 Starting April 1, travellers who have been fully vaccinated overseas and registered their vaccination history with South Korea’s Q-Code website will be able to enter the country without a seven-day quarantine period. Travellers who have completed a two-dose vaccine series at least 14 days before their trip will be considered fully vaccinated. A one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also be accepted. If more than 180 days have passed since a traveller completed their initial vaccination series,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3170959/coronavirus-south-korea-drops-quarantine-vaccinated-visitors-southeast?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3170959/coronavirus-south-korea-drops-quarantine-vaccinated-visitors-southeast?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Mar 2022 06:33:16 +0000 As Stacie Yang drew up plans to celebrate her 30th birthday due at the end of February, her options were quickly vanishing with Hong Kong’s explosive growth in Covid-19 cases. Spa sessions, a karaoke rendezvous, and manicures were out, as city authorities shut close-contact services to contain the spread of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus. Even dinners were out of the question as indoor dining was banned after 6pm. Exasperated, Yang booked a deluxe room at the Rosewood Hotel in Tsim... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3167589/hong-kong-coronavirus-will-omicron-surge-turn-half-empty-hotels-quarantine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3167589/hong-kong-coronavirus-will-omicron-surge-turn-half-empty-hotels-quarantine?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Feb 2022 02:00:19 +0000 A global travel divide is deepening as some countries ditch Covid-19 restrictions including quarantines, isolation and even mandatory testing for good, while others cling to years-old curbs. Lingering barriers to travel in Asia in particular are isolating the region and its tourism-reliant economies, just as the recovery in Europe and the United States accelerates. In Britain, authorities are dumping unpopular preflight tests and now only require proof of vaccination as they strive to normalise... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3166919/singapore-and-hong-kong-their-own-global-travel-rebounds-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3166919/singapore-and-hong-kong-their-own-global-travel-rebounds-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Feb 2022 03:10:32 +0000 Thailand plans to hold travel bubble talks with China and Malaysia this month, days after resuming a quarantine-free visa programme to boost tourist arrivals seen as key to sustaining a nascent economic recovery. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s government will soon discuss with China’s Minister for Culture and Tourism details of a possible bilateral travel deal, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, a government spokesman, said in a statement on Monday. Thai officials are also preparing to hold talks... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3166090/thailand-hold-travel-bubble-talks-china-malaysia-bid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3166090/thailand-hold-travel-bubble-talks-china-malaysia-bid?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Feb 2022 07:47:08 +0000 As Hong Kong and mainland China continue to tighten the screws on their increasingly impossible-looking zero-Covid-19 objectives, the stirrings of a resumption in inter­national travel for non-essential reasons can be detected elsewhere in Asia, even as infection rates – driven by the Omicron variant – continue to climb. Last week, as the World Health Organization advised countries to lift or ease their international travel bans, “as they do not provide added value and continue to contribute to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3164682/bangkok-bali-da-nang-foreign-tourists-are-returning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3164682/bangkok-bali-da-nang-foreign-tourists-are-returning?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jan 2022 00:45:21 +0000 Few countries have been affected by the shutdown of global travel to fight coronavirus more than Thailand. Bangkok was the most visited city in the world in 2019, ahead of Paris, France, and that year the country received 39.8 million visitors. The number plummeted to 6.7 million in 2020. But the country is emerging from isolation. Beginning with the Phuket Sandbox scheme in July, Thailand has been reviving its battered tourist industry. As of November 1, fully vaccinated travellers from... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3158877/travelling-thailand-during-covid-19-four-visitors-fully?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3158877/travelling-thailand-during-covid-19-four-visitors-fully?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Dec 2021 01:15:19 +0000 The stringent approach of many Asian cities to shutting out Covid-19 may have kept case numbers in check and taken some pressure off local economies. But it has done nothing for their global standing as tourism destinations. Asian cities are nowhere to be seen in the top 10 of an index ranking the world’s best destinations. Paris and other European cities dominate the list compiled by Euromonitor International, owing to their more relaxed travel policies amid the pandemic. The Top 100 City... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3158304/hong-kong-other-asian-cities-shut-out-worlds-top-10-tourist-destinations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3158304/hong-kong-other-asian-cities-shut-out-worlds-top-10-tourist-destinations?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Dec 2021 01:30:15 +0000 Camera shutters went off in rapid succession as we entered the Incheon International Airport arrivals hall. None of us passengers on Korean Air flight KE646 from Singapore was a hallyu (or Korean wave) celebrity and none was ready for the media scrum, having taken an unusual six-hour flight and undergone stringent document and immigration checks. “People here are very excited because you are the first foreign tourists they have seen in a long time,” explained an airport official. Not that many... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3156645/flying-covid-19-era-what-singapore-south-korea-trip-under?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3156645/flying-covid-19-era-what-singapore-south-korea-trip-under?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Nov 2021 07:15:16 +0000 Investors are snapping up commercial properties in Australia with the rare support of Hong Kong buyers despite lingering Canberra-Beijing tensions, pushing the market Down Under towards its busiest in six years. Commercial property investment involving deals above A$10 million has reached A$35.4 billion (US$26 billion) to date, a 70 per cent increase from a year earlier, according to Colliers International. The volume is within 17 per cent of the A$41.3billion recorded in 2015. The surge in... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3156159/australias-commercial-property-market-ignores-china-snub-singapore-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3156159/australias-commercial-property-market-ignores-china-snub-singapore-us?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Nov 2021 23:30:20 +0000 Singapore and Malaysia will allow quarantine-free air travel between the two countries for individuals vaccinated against Covid-19, the first step towards reversing a border lockdown that began last March. The two neighbours will launch a vaccinated travel lane between Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport from November 29, a route that before the pandemic was among the busiest air routes in the world, with about 40 flights daily. The news came as Singapore announced it would... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3155304/coronavirus-singapore-malaysia-open-vaccinated-travel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3155304/coronavirus-singapore-malaysia-open-vaccinated-travel?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Nov 2021 10:25:52 +0000 More Hong Kong-based expats are buying properties in their home countries or other overseas markets, boosting the number of transactions by 30 to 40 per cent this year, according to agents and bankers. If the trend holds, Hong Kong’s population of expatriates – who account for a large portion of the home leasing market in the city, particularly the high-end segment – will decline, likely impacting the overall rental market, analysts said. The number of persons employed by companies whose parent... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3154480/more-hong-kong-expats-buy-property-their-home-countries-offshore-markets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3154480/more-hong-kong-expats-buy-property-their-home-countries-offshore-markets?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Nov 2021 00:30:23 +0000 Local residents, bankers and lawyers have replaced pilots as top renters of luxury property in Lantau amid diminished prospects in the aviation industry, according to property agents. Rents of high-end homes in Lantau, the preferred location of aviation sector employees owing to its proximity to the city’s airport, have declined by 10 to 15 per cent since the first quarter of last year, after the Covid-19 pandemic led to massive job losses in the industry as Hong Kong closed its borders to... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3153733/lantaus-popularity-grows-among-bankers-lawyers-looking-rent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3153733/lantaus-popularity-grows-among-bankers-lawyers-looking-rent?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Oct 2021 00:30:16 +0000 Australia will lift a ban on citizens travelling overseas without permission, the government announced on Wednesday, with the country’s border set to open to skilled workers and international students by the end of the year. More than 18 months after Australia shut its international borders, fully inoculated citizens will no longer have to seek an exemption to leave the country, a joint statement from the health and home affairs ministries said. It comes as the country’s adult double-dose... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3153809/coronavirus-australia-lifts-international-travel-ban-citizens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3153809/coronavirus-australia-lifts-international-travel-ban-citizens?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Oct 2021 23:37:34 +0000 Singapore borders will in two weeks reopen to vaccinated travellers from Australia and Switzerland, who will not have to undergo quarantine, authorities said on Tuesday. The new arrangement is on top of the 11 vaccinated travel lanes the city state has already announced, including to Britain, South Korea and the United States. The move comes as Singapore pledges to commit to a “living with Covid” strategy to restart the economy after months of movement restrictions, even as it battles an ongoing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3153751/singapore-allow-australia-and-switzerland-travellers-enter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3153751/singapore-allow-australia-and-switzerland-travellers-enter?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Oct 2021 09:24:48 +0000 International financial firms have urged Hong Kong to ease its zero-Covid approach, as the government’s data showed that only one in five applicants were exempted from a tough quarantine rule since a waiver programme kicked off five months ago. The exemption scheme had not operated as expected, with only 86 approvals granted as of October 22, out of 385 applications received, according to data provided by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) in response to a query by South... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3153605/global-banks-pressure-hong-kong-abandon-zero-covid-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3153605/global-banks-pressure-hong-kong-abandon-zero-covid-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Oct 2021 09:46:59 +0000 A quarantine-free travel bubble between Singapore and Australia could be established “within the next week”, said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday. The arrangement will first be focused on allowing vaccinated students and business travellers to travel freely between the two countries, before opening up to tourists, reported The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia is in the “final stages” of concluding the agreement with Singapore, said Morrison, who added that it will also be... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3153265/coronavirus-australia-start-quarantine-free-travel-bubble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3153265/coronavirus-australia-start-quarantine-free-travel-bubble?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Oct 2021 04:34:32 +0000 Asian nations are slowly opening up their borders, giving vaccinated travellers the chance to again explore the region, Europe and the United States. But should one travel? If so, where to, and is it safe? This Week in Asia answers some of your basic pandemic travel questions. Is it really safe to go? What are the factors I should consider? A few countries in Asia – including popular travel destinations such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore – have opened up to travellers in the hopes of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3152555/asian-nations-open-where-travel-allowed-and-how-can-i-do-so?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/explained/article/3152555/asian-nations-open-where-travel-allowed-and-how-can-i-do-so?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Oct 2021 04:00:23 +0000 Singapore and eight Western nations including the United States and Britain will soon open quarantine-free travel lanes for vaccinated travellers, authorities said on Saturday, marking the country’s most extensive easing of travel restrictions since borders were shut last March. Canada, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Denmark will also open “vaccinated travel lanes” with the island nation. These lanes will begin operations starting October 19. The new travel corridors were unveiled as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3151761/singapore-open-travel-corridors-us-uk-six-other-living-covid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3151761/singapore-open-travel-corridors-us-uk-six-other-living-covid?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Oct 2021 05:14:26 +0000 Residents of Malaysia were recently given a week’s notice of the opening of the country’s first domestic travel bubble, which is allowing tourists back to the archipelago of Langkawi amid the coronavirus pandemic. To take advantage of the opportunity, travellers over 18 would need to be fully vaccinated (in Malaysia, that means having received a second vaccine dose at least 14 days earlier, or, for single-dose vaccinations, having been jabbed at least 28 days earlier). Authorities had planned to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3150864/langkawi-domestic-travel-bubble-malaysia-has-approval?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3150864/langkawi-domestic-travel-bubble-malaysia-has-approval?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Oct 2021 23:15:14 +0000 A planned reopening of its borders is unlikely to have foreigners rushing back to Australian residential property, giving locals some space to cope with soaring home prices, analysts said. Last week, Canberra announced that it was aiming to reopen its international borders by Christmas at the latest, raising hopes that foreigners would finally be able to visit Down Under. That this could potentially lead to a deluge of foreigners snapping up homes in Australia was unlikely, according to... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3150360/australias-reopening-unlikely-immediately-bring-foreign-buyers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3150360/australias-reopening-unlikely-immediately-bring-foreign-buyers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Sep 2021 06:00:20 +0000 Businesses in Malaysia’s prime holiday destination, Langkawi, are gearing up to welcome the return of tourists this week, as the country takes an early step towards recovery from a devastating coronavirus crisis. Its Indonesian counterpart Bali, meanwhile, is contemplating an uptick in business, with social restrictions having been eased on Monday, and even the return of foreign visitors. A cluster of 99 islands in the Strait of Malacca, Langkawi will reopen from September 16 to fully vaccinated... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3148787/langkawi-and-bali-gear-welcome-back-tourists-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3148787/langkawi-and-bali-gear-welcome-back-tourists-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Sep 2021 04:45:16 +0000 After dangling rebates and freebies to attract buyers, Thai developers are trying out a new strategy to trim their inventory of unsold homes by auctioning them online at deep discounts. Some 120 flats in several projects across the Southeast Asian country will be made available for bidding next month on whyborder, an online property portal owned and operated by a Singapore-based company. The flats are expected to be offered at 20 to 40 per cent below their selling prices. The apartments range... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3148446/after-rebates-and-freebies-thai-developers-auction-flats-online-bid-shake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3148446/after-rebates-and-freebies-thai-developers-auction-flats-online-bid-shake?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Sep 2021 05:03:08 +0000 Luxury resorts in China’s southernmost tourism destination have an opportunity to cash in on stymied international travel as affluent domestic holiday-goers seek out tropical shores to tide them over until they can again return to their jet-set lifestyle abroad. Unable to bask in the sun of far-flung destinations such as the Mediterranean or the Maldives due to coronavirus restrictions, China-based holidaymakers are increasingly turning to the beach-resort city of Sanya on Hainan island, one of... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3145811/china-travel-affluent-jet-setting-tourists-stuck-china-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3145811/china-travel-affluent-jet-setting-tourists-stuck-china-are?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Aug 2021 03:30:13 +0000 Singapore will from September remove quarantine requirements for vaccinated travellers from Germany and Brunei, in a signal to the world it is cautiously reopening while managing the Covid-19 threat. It has also unilaterally scrapped quarantine requirements for travellers from Hong Kong and Macau, although the quarantine-free Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble is now dead in the water, due to the cities’ different approaches to combating the pandemic. By trading its previous Covid-Zero approach... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3145833/singapore-trades-covid-zero-covid-resilience-how-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3145833/singapore-trades-covid-zero-covid-resilience-how-will?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Aug 2021 02:17:51 +0000 Asian airlines are reporting high vaccination take-up rates among pilots and cabin crew as they wait for the region’s tight pandemic-related border controls to be relaxed. International travel in the Asia-Pacific region remains down about 95 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, and concerns about the Delta variant have led to even stricter quarantines or flight caps in some places, leaving many aircrew members idle and hoping for a recovery. Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Australia’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3145593/coronavirus-asian-airlines-report-high-vaccination-rates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3145593/coronavirus-asian-airlines-report-high-vaccination-rates?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Aug 2021 05:52:25 +0000 The return of more stringent travel restrictions in Hong Kong is likely to weigh on the city’s battered hotels sector, which is expected to record among the slowest recoveries in Asia, analysts said. In a U-turn on Monday, the Hong Kong government ended what could be the world’s shortest relaxation of quarantine rules and put the United States and 14 other countries in a high-risk category for Covid-19. Arrivals from these countries will now be required to undergo a 21-day quarantine, rising... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3145321/hong-kong-quarantine-u-turn-sucker-punch-battered-hotels-sector?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3145321/hong-kong-quarantine-u-turn-sucker-punch-battered-hotels-sector?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Aug 2021 00:30:16 +0000 Spare a thought for Thailand’s ravaged hotel industry. Even before the Covid-19 Delta variant ripped through the Southeast Asian nation, causing daily infections to surge to 22,000, the sector was among the worst performers in the Asia-Pacific region. Foreign tourist arrivals – which accounted for 70 per cent of Thailand’s tourism receipts before the pandemic struck – fell by a staggering 83 per cent year on year last year, data from consultancy Horwath HTL shows. This caused the hotel sector’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3145151/thailands-phuket-sandbox-scheme-ray-hope-asias-tourism-industry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3145151/thailands-phuket-sandbox-scheme-ray-hope-asias-tourism-industry?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Aug 2021 01:15:15 +0000 It has been over a month since the government announced an exemption of executives in Hong Kong’s financial sector from quarantine measures when returning to the city from overseas business trips, thus enabling the sector to resume normal operations to a certain degree, and maintain client relationships in the financial arena. Members of Hong Kong’s maritime community looked on in dismay at this development, which left one of the most globally vital industries confined to Hong Kong in continued... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3142559/how-hong-kong-can-chart-course-towards-living-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3142559/how-hong-kong-can-chart-course-towards-living-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jul 2021 22:45:13 +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 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 The announcement on July 12 that Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, had signed advance purchase agreements with Sinopharm and Sinovac was a significant marker of progress for China’s vaccine industry. Prior to that, each Chinese company also made the World Health Organization’s list of Covid-19 vaccines approved for emergency use. Under the agreements with Gavi, Sinopharm and Sinovac will begin to make 110 million doses immediately available to participants in the Covax Facility. If necessary,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3141063/china-should-treat-vaccine-data-transparency-matter-science-rather?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3141063/china-should-treat-vaccine-data-transparency-matter-science-rather?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Jul 2021 17:00:17 +0000 Malaysia reported 11,079 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the most in a single day since the start of the pandemic, as it shut down a vaccination centre in its worst-hit state after more than 200 medical staff and volunteers tested positive. Science Minister Khairy Jamaluddin stressed that swift government action had contained the cluster at the Ideal Convention Centre in central Selangor state. Khairy, who is in charge of the national immunisation programme, said he ordered the testing of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3140897/coronavirus-australia-singapore-travel-bubble-planned-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3140897/coronavirus-australia-singapore-travel-bubble-planned-year?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jul 2021 06:22:40 +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 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 aim of having a Covid-free Hong Kong is just not, nor will it ever be, possible. We seem to have so many “experts” here in Hong Kong that advise the government on how to achieve this Utopian dream of a Covid-free Hong Kong and the government seems happy to follow the advice. Unfortunately some of the basics seem to have largely been forgotten. We will never be 100 per cent free of Covid in the near term. What we have to do is adjust and accept that fact (“‘Covid-19 may never go away’:... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3139415/forget-zero-covid-let-hong-kong-learn-live-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3139415/forget-zero-covid-let-hong-kong-learn-live-it?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Jul 2021 22:30:23 +0000 Before the Covid-19 pandemic forced countries to close their borders, Peggy Chung was a frequent traveller. The 52-year-old Hong Kong-based food merchant travelled within Asia regularly and sometimes to Europe and South America to meet clients. While the pandemic has not had a seismic impact on her business, her life is not as exciting as it used to be. “[It has been] very boring,” Chung said. “I used to have fun meeting my clients, but now I’m just stuck at home.” A number of digital health... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3138821/digital-vaccine-passports-how-blockchain-and-qr-codes-can-revive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3138821/digital-vaccine-passports-how-blockchain-and-qr-codes-can-revive?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Jun 2021 23:00:09 +0000 The Phuket “sandbox”, Thailand’s bold attempt to reset its tourism industry by opening the island to vaccinated foreign visitors without quarantine, was approved on Tuesday, offering hope to battered businesses and a potential shot in the arm to the travel bubble concept across Asia. Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri confirmed the cabinet had officially given the scheme its blessing. But Chinese tourists – who made up over a quarter of Thailand’s 40 million visitors in 2019 – are not... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3138344/thailand-approves-phuket-sandbox-plan-allow-vaccinated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3138344/thailand-approves-phuket-sandbox-plan-allow-vaccinated?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jun 2021 11:21:02 +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 Singapore has reported its 34th death due to Covid-19, taking its toll from the pandemic beyond the 33 casualties recorded during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) outbreak. The city state was one of the worst-hit countries by Sars outside mainland China, based on numbers of infection and death, according to the World Health Organization’s data. Sars, a previously unknown infectious disease, is believed to have emerged from the wet markets of China’s Guangdong province before... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3136607/coronavirus-singapore-confirms-34th-casualty-surpassing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3136607/coronavirus-singapore-confirms-34th-casualty-surpassing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jun 2021 06:18:31 +0000