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|2021-09-24||Fiji to reopen borders to tourists Read More|
With some 66% citizens fully vaccinated, Fiji will reopen border by November to international tourists who are fully vaccinated and test negative prior to departure. Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Singapore and some parts of USA now on Fiji's green list.
|2021-09-24||Singapore to expand Vaccinated Travel Lane Read More|
On Sep 21, media reported Singapore's Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL), which started on Sept 8 and drew some 900 international travelers, detected only one Covid-19 case upon these arrivals; and Singapore will further expand VTL.
|2021-09-23||Percentage of household booking online travel / leisure services Read More|
On shopping of products and services, the survey found 37% households will order online food & drink delivery services and 15% book travel and leisure activities.
|2021-09-21||Hong Kong Citizens on online shopping Read More|
Census by Hong Kong government held from 2019 to 2020 found some 60% of the city’s 2.4 million families made online purchases with each of them on average spending HK$1,668 in a month. Also, these families on average spend HK$21,377 per month on shopping of products and services which does not include rent, while 22% of them spend HK$2,000 or more per month on online shopping.
|2021-09-20||IATA urge countries to adopt EU Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) as global standard for vaccine certification Read More|
So far, DCC are being widely used only in Europe, and International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged countries to adopt globally EU's standard for vaccine certification.
|2021-09-17||Covid-19 in Hong Kong and some other Asian countries & regions as of Sep 16 at 15.00 Read More|
|2021-09-16||Thailand to open second-tiered destinations in mid October Read More|
Thailand also confirm 25 more provinces will be opened from October 15 as second destination to foreign tourists who already spent 7 days in one of the sandbox destinations.
|2021-09-15||Thailand to open more Sandbox Destinations from next month Read More|
Thailand confirm Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Cha-Am, Pattaya will open to foreign tourists from October 1, following the model on the Phuket Sand box.
|2021-09-14||Vietnam to reopen Dao Phu Quoc Read More|
Vietnam will at the end of 2021 reopen to foreign tourists in Dao Phu Quoc try run vaccine passport arrangement there.
|2021-09-13||ASEAN countries lost heavily on tourism in 2020 Read More|
ASEAN member countries as a whole lost 75.8% of tourism revenue in 2020!
|2021-09-13||Indonesia’s plan to reopen to international tourists Read More|
Indonesia plan allowing some parts of Bali and the northern part of Pulau Bintan to reopen to foreign tourists.
|2021-09-10||Israel start accepting foreign tour groups this month to kick start tourism Read More|
To kick-start tourism, from Sept 19, Israel will allow tour groups of between 5 and 30 people, whose members all fully vaccinated, from countries on her green, yellow and orange lists to enter the country.
|2021-09-09||Cambodia to reopen border to international tourists this year Read More|
Cambodia will allow fully vaccinated international tourists who can produce proof of inoculation to enter the country as early as in the coming November, but still not yet decided if to remove all 14 days of the quarantine period or cut down to 7 days etc.
|2021-09-08||Hong Kong waive quarantine for some residents in mainland China Read More|
As of September 7, Hong Kong been for the past 21 consecutive days no locally infected case! From Sep 15, each day 2000 residents from mainland China having met some conditions can enter Hong Kong without quarantine.
|2021-09-07||Tourists stayed longer than 10 days in Phuket Read More|
On average, tourists spent 11 to 12 days in Phuket before flying home, and reserved in total nearly 367000 room nights in Phuket hotels over the past two months.
|2021-09-06||Phuket Sandbox unlikely meet third quarter target Read More|
Quoting Tourism Authority of Thailand, media on Sep 2 reported the Phuket Sandbox project has drawn 26,400 foreigners since it was launched on July 1, and only 83 people or 0.3% been tested positive. The project targeted 100,000 tourists in the third quarter, which now look unlikely be achieved.
|2021-09-03||Inbound to Macau in first 7 months in 2021 Read More|
From January to July this year, Macau received around 4.72 million inbound visitors, of whom 2.47 million staying overnight. These visitors on average stayed for 1.6 days.
|2021-09-02||Inbound to Macau in July Read More|
In July this year, Macau received around 789,400 inbound visitors, of whom 412,700 staying overnight. These visitors on average stayed for 1.8 days.
|2021-09-01||Chinese Tourists staying longer in hotels close to theme park II Read More|
The research institute in China also found hotels in the vicinity of the Beijing Happy Valley, guests on average staying 1.1 days in summer of 2019, which rose to 1.5 days in summer of 2021.
|2021-08-31||Chinese Tourists staying longer in hotels close to theme park I Read More|
A research institute in China found hotels in the vicinity of the Shanghai Disneyland, on average, costed RMB 3073 per night with guests staying 1.3 days in summer of 2019, which respectively rose to RMB 4428 per night and 1.7 days in summer of 2021.
|2021-08-30||Hong Kong Travelers respond to Singapore new quarantine free entry Read More|
As of August 25, Singapore Civil Aviation Authority issued 230 air travel passes for travelers from Hong Kong, who need on arrival take a PCR test and if result is negative will have quarantine waived but other conditions like using the TraceTogether app.
|2021-08-26||Thailand project tourism revenue in 2021 Read More|
From Thai media, Thailand in 2021 will receive a total of 100 million travelers, of whom 1.2 million foreign who bring in revenue totaling baht 850 billion; while domestic travelers generate tourism revenue of baht 5407 billion.
|2021-08-25||Huge growth in summer camp related companies in China Read More|
Media report China now has around 48000 companies with business related to summer camp, and among them 80% set up within the last five years.
|2021-08-24||Chinese Travelers redeem early on stockpiling travel products Read More|
On average, stockpiling travel products sold by C-trip has 5 months validity period, and this year over 90% of the online shoppers buy the travel products then make booking for redemption within one month.
|2021-08-23||Travel Portal offer discount etc. encourage Chinese travelers consumption of “hoarding trips” Read More|
C-trip, a major travel portal in china, been offering big discount and long valid period on various travel products to encourage travelers stockpiling on them. From March 2020 to August 2021, such travel products on average are 50% cheap er and save travelers RMB723.
|2021-08-20||Visitors from Hong Kong can enter Singapore quarantine free Read More|
A result of different strategies, Singapore and Hong Kong will scrap the long delayed travel bubble between the two cities. But from Aug 20, visitors from Hong Kong need just take one on arrival swab test, and if test negative no quarantine required.
|2021-08-19||Vietnam announced new quarantine requirement Read More|
On Aug 4, Vietnam in a statement said fully vaccinated foreign visitors who tested negative will be quarantined for 7 days, and a further 7 days of medical surveillance, but without naming specific effective date!
|2021-08-18||Phuket Sandbox drew some 20000 international tourists Read More|
On August `4, Thai official said the Phuket Sandbox, which launched on July 1, has attracted around 20000 international tourists with USA, UK, Israel, Germany and France the top five source markets. Among them, 2622 continued traveling to other parts of Thailand after Phuket.
|2021-08-17||Brief rebound in international travel in May Read More|
May this year saw a brief rebound with international arrivals in that month down only by 82% comparing to same period pre-pandemic while that in April dropped by 86%, according to UNWTO data.
|2021-08-16||Decreases in International travelers by Regions Read More|
Comparing numbers of international traveler in the first 5 months this year with same period in 2019, respectively Asia Pacific dropped 95% which the largest, Europe by 85% and Americas by 72%, according to data from the UNWTO.
|2021-08-16||Europe the least travel restrictions in the World Read More|
As of June this year, globally, 63 destinations have their border completely closed, and among them 33 in the Asia Pacific, and 7 in Europe which has relatively the least travel restrictions, according to UNWTO data.
|2021-08-12||UNWTO reported big drop in international travelers Read More|
From UNWTO statistics, the world’s total number of international travelers in the first 5 months this year, dropped 85% against the 540 million in the same period in 2019 pre-pandemic, and 65% against 2020!
|2021-08-12||Mutant Covid-19 hinder tourism recovery Read More|
While there has been a small increase in international travelers in May this year, UNWTO worry new mutant strains of Covid-19 and restrictions will hinder the recovery of international travel.
|2021-08-11||Beijing to cancel exhibitions held this month in the city Read More|
Beijing Municipal government announced on Aug 5 large scale conference and exhibition scheduled to be held this month in the city will, in principle, all be canceled.
|2021-08-10||China domestic travel income more than doubled in first half this year Read More|
From China Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the country’s domestic travel income totaled RMB1.63 trillion in the first half this year, up 157.9% over same period last year and around 58.6% of that in 2019.
|2021-08-09||China domestic travelers doubled in the first half of this year Read More|
On July 29, China Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced her domestic travelers totaled 1.871 billion in the first half of 2021, up 60.9% over 2019 and up 100.8% over 2020, which respectively up 126.1% in the first quarter and 33% in the second quarter.
|2021-08-05||Saudi reopening border to vaccinated travelers Read More|
Travelers who have valid visa and been inoculated with approved vaccine and with a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours before departure can enter or leave Saudi Arabia without quarantine from August 1 this year.
|2021-08-04||Phuket Sandbox generated income over 800 million baht Read More|
In the first month of reopening, Phuket in July received 14055 foreign tourists and among them were 32 confirmed cases, generating tourism income above 800 million Baht (or RMB160 million).
|2021-08-03||Huge cut in domestic flights in China Read More|
Media report to fight the pandemic airport in many popular tourism destinations in mainland China have huge cut in domestic flights.
|2021-08-02||Chinese citizens cancel summer holidays Read More|
On Aug 1, China (mainland) reported 55 locally infected cases and 43 imported cases. Accordingly, 29 Chinese provinces urgently reminded citizens not to leave the city nor the province unless absolutely necessary, and the National Administration of Immigration stop issuing passports to travelers for non-essential outbound travel.
|2021-07-28||World’s most desirable Passport II Read More|
The Arton Capital's index, which has its ranking based on adding the number of countries for which a passport has visa-free entry with the number for which it can get a visa on arrival, name that of New Zealand its top passport, to be followed by Germany, Spain and Australia sharing the same ranking.
|2021-07-28||ITE Hong Kong opens tomorrow on July 29 Read More|
The next ITE, which Hong Kong’s only travel fair, will be held as scheduled from July 29 to August 1, 2021 in Halls 1B & C of Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). Of its 100 plus exhibitors which come from 16 countries and regions, over half from outside Hong Kong. Officiating its opening this year is Mr. Edward Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Hong Kong SAR.
|2021-07-28||Exhibition photos & updates on Facebook Read More|
|2021-07-27||World’s most desirable Passport Read More|
The Henley index, which ranks passports by number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa, name this month its top passports. They respectively are Japan, followed by Singapore, and then Germany and South Korea in joint third place.
|2021-07-26||Canada to open border Read More|
On September 7, international travelers 14 days before entering Canada already received full vaccinations endorsed by the Canadian government, having submitted all related documents, can have the 14 days quarantine waived.
|2021-07-23||Three more Thai Island open to vaccinated foreign tourists Read More|
In addition to Phuket, Thailand opened another three islands of Samui, Tao and Phangan to vaccinated foreign tourists from July 15. According to Koh Samui Tourism Association, 75% of the three islands’ residents already vaccinated.
|2021-07-22||Summer Family Travel in China recovered Read More|
From C-trip, booking for summer family travel on average consist of 3.4 person, and among them over 60% involving parent born in the Eighties while children borne after 2010. Estimate based on flight booking indicate family travel this summer grew 8% over same period in 2019.
|2021-07-20||China travel portal reported summer business grew 10 times Read More|
C-trip, China’s major travel portal reported on July 12, its package tour and FIT bookings for the coming summer from July1 to August 31 grew by over 10 times over same period last year.
|2021-07-20||China University Students spend more in summer travel Read More|
From C-trip, China’s university students traveling in the coming summer on average outspend same period last year by 40%, which equivalent to 2 months of their living expenses.
|2021-07-19||No Quarantine for Hong Kong if tests negative Read More|
UK include Hong Kong and Bulgaria in Green list which mean travelers from these two markets need only two negative covid-19 tests, one before departure and one 2 days after arrival, for entering without quarantine, effective from July 19.
|2021-07-16||Mauritius second stage opening up in October Read More|
From Oct 1, vaccinated tourists need only provide at arrival negative test taken 72 hours before departure for admission. They can choose to stay in any hotel and move free in the island.
|2021-07-14||Hong Kong likely zero local infected case in almost a month Read More|
On July 13 at zero hour, Hong Kong had a cumulative total of 11953 cases and at least for 28 consecutive days zero locally infected cases! Specifically, Between July 12 and June 29, Hong Kong had 29 imported cases, 1 case related to imported and 1 case still under investigation though found linked with 4 earlier imported cases; and between June28 and June 15 had 40 imported cases and 2 cases related to imported cases.
|2021-07-13||China's Air passenger Traffic back to 2019 level in second quarter Read More|
In the first half of 2021, China’s airlines carried 245 million passenger flights, up 66.4% over same period last year and equivalent to 76.2% of the traffic in 2019. Just focus on the second quarter, passenger traffic already the same level as in same period of 2019.
|2021-07-12||China domestic tourism dropped in 2020 Read More|
In 2020, China’s domestic travelers totaled 2.88 billion, down 52%, while domestic tourism income totaled RMB2.23 trillion, down 61%.
|2021-07-09||Phuket Six Digits Hotel bookings in 3rd Quarter Read More|
Quoting Thai authority, media reported Phuket by July 6 already received around 100,000 room night booking in the third quarter this year.
|2021-07-09||Thailand to launch Samui Plus Read More|
Thailand will launch on July 15 the Samui Plus, which expects to serve 1000 tourists in the first month.
|2021-07-08||Hong Kong has zero infections for 29 consecutive days Read More|
With the recent case of a hotel cleaner confirmed to be imported, Hong Kong as of July 6 been for the past 29 days without any locally infected case.
|2021-07-07||Negative test can shorten quarantine for returning Hong Kong residents Read More|
Residents returning to Hong Kong within three months of departure, at present, can pay for a test of antibody in an approved laboratory, and those tested negative can shorten quarantine period to 7 days. Such test will be available at the Hong Kong airport within this month.
|2021-07-06||China’s provinces by average monthly salary Read More|
Media reported top average monthly salary in the second quarter this year are respectively Beijing at RMB11389, Shanghai at RMB11030, Shenzhen at RMB10442 and Guangzhou at RMB9714.
|2021-07-05||Phuket started receiving foreign tourists Read More|
Arriving Phuket on July 1 were 366 travelers in 4 flights by different airlines. Thai foreign ministry reported on July 2 there were already some 4000 applications to enter the country, while TAT said over 1000 foreign tourists already booked Phuket hotels for the coming half month.
|2021-07-02||Cruises in Asia Read More|
The Royal Caribbean “cruises to nowhere” started in Singapore in December 2020, and its Voyage of the Seas now operating domestic journeys in China.
|2021-07-02||Guam to waive quarantine requirement for foreign inbound Read More|
From July 4, incoming international travelers with negative PCR test 72 hours before departure can visit Guam without quarantine, which already vaccinated 75% of her population by June 30.
|2021-06-30||Cruise already back to business Read More|
Quoting the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) which is the world's largest cruise industry trade association, CNN on June 27 reported 16% of CLIA's ships are back.
|2021-06-30||More Cruises be back to business Read More|
Further, CLIA expects the percentage of operational cruises will rise to 49% by the end of the coming September and all CLIA members' ships to be operating again by the end of 2022.
|2021-06-29||French brand report camping products selling well in China Read More|
GM of French brand of outdoor gears and products in Shenzhen reported big growth in business in the first 5 months this year, 130% for tents and 360% for camping related products comparing to 2019.
|2021-06-29||China’s camping gear market to grow annual by compound rate of over 9% Read More|
Reporter Linker, a market research firm, predicts China’s camping gear and products will grow by an annual compound rate of 9.1% to reach US$15.9 billion in 2027.
|2021-06-28||China expert predict border between Hong Kong and the mainland to reopen in July Read More|
Media reported on June 26, China expert Dr. Zhong Nanshan predicted border between the mainland and Hong Kong, which in recent months managed to better control the pandemic, will be reopened partially in July
|2021-06-28||France abolish quarantine for Hong Kong citizens Read More|
Following on EU’s recent announcement, France’s foreign ministry announced on June 24 that citizens of Hong Kong even for those without vaccine will be admitted without quarantine and take part in sightseeing activities etc.
|2021-06-25||China Camping Sites full in Dragon Boat Festival Read More|
A social platform in China report many of the country’s camping sites during the Dragon Boat Festival were full, with search traffic on camping grew 4 times for all and among the age group of 19 to 33 by 80%.
|2021-06-25||Camping grew the fastest in China’s Outdoor Travel Read More|
A travel portal in China report the country in 2020 saw big increases in outdoor travel! Specifically, camping grew 303.5%; driving tour 78.6%; hiking and riding respectively by 32.6% and 21.7%.
|2021-06-25||Recent spike of camping sites in China Read More|
There exist in China, by the end of May 2021, some 20000 enterprises relating to camping sites, and of which 7933 first registered in 2020 and 6941 in the first five months of 2021.
|2021-06-24||Quarantine reduction trigger Hong Kong residents search for international destinations Read More|
Waves of search on travel portals for international destinations by Hong Kong residents immediately follow government’s recent announcement to cut returning residents’ quarantine requirement, reported Bloomberg. On June 21, Skyscanner traffic soared 43% with China (mainland), Japan, USA and UK the most popular destinations, while Expomedia local website rose by 10% with search on Macau rising by 40%. Despite the announcement, returning Hong Kong residents will still face quarantine in hotel.
|2021-06-24||Some 30% Hongkongers inoculated Read More|
On June 21, around 1.94 million Hongkongers which equivalent to 28.4 percent of the 6.84 million citizens above 12 years old - had at least one vaccine inoculation; and among them, 1.28 million or 18.7 percent had two shots.
|2021-06-23||Market News Summary Read More|
|2021-06-23||Hong Kong quarantine policy for arrivals from very to extremely high areas Read More|
Hong Kong classifies Brazil, India, Nepal and the Philippines as extremely high-risk countries and flights banned; and countries like Ireland and Indonesia as very high-risk and arrivals must undergo 21 days of hotel quarantine whether they are vaccinated or not.
|2021-06-23||Hong Kong quarantine policy for arrivals from high to low risk areas Read More|
For vaccinated travelers from high- and medium-risk countries arriving Hong Kong, the hotel quarantine period will be halved to 7 days upon testing positive for antibodies; and similar arrangement for vaccinated arrivals low-risk Australia and New Zealand.
|2021-06-22||Hong Kong to shorten quarantine for some returning fully vaccinated residents Read More|
Except those from extremely high or very high risk countries or areas, returning Hong Kong residents who are fully vaccinated and test positive for antibodies within past 3 months, will from June 30 have their hotel quarantine period shortened to 7 days, announced the Chief Executive yesterday when the city been 14 days without locally infected case.
|2021-06-22||Hong Kong to shorten quarantine for some fully vaccinated Non-residents
Also announced yesterday, Hong Kong will in about a month apply the same arrangement as described above to non-residents.
|2021-06-22||Hong Kong and Macau border to reopen the earliest on July 6 Read More|
The Chief Executive said negotiation to resume cross border travel with Macau underway, which will only open to vaccinated people. Quoting Macau, media reported Hong Kong agreed to begin the scheme when the city has not seen a local case for 28 straight days, which July 6 will be the earliest possible.
|2021-06-21||Hong Kong 15 days Zero local Case of Unknown Source Read More|
Media reported on June 21, Hong Kong been in the past 15 days had no locally infected case of unknown source, and such case last occurred on June 5 infecting only the patient’s mother and sister.
|2021-06-21||Mauritius reopen border Stage One Read More|
From July 15 to Sep 30, Mauritius will admit vaccinated foreign tourists who can spend holiday only in hotel. Tourists who stay for over 14 days and test negative can then visit other parts of the country.
|2021-06-21||Mauritius reopen border Stage Two Read More|
From Oct 1, vaccinated foreign tourists with negative test result in past 72 hours can visit various parts of Mauritius. However, unvaccinated foreign tourists will be quarantine for 14 days in both stage 1 and 2.
|2021-06-18||China’s Domestic Travelers in Dragon Boat Festival almost leveled pre pandemic Read More|
China’s domestic travelers during the Dragon Boat Festival from June 12 to 14 totaled 89.1 million which about 98.7% of same period pre-pandemic and 88.6% of them traveled within 300 km, according to China Ministry of Culture & Tourism.
|2021-06-17||Thailand aim reopening to visitors in 120 days Read More|
Thailand Premier said on June 16 the country plan reopening fully to foreign visitors within 120 days, and earlier for those more ready, which Phuket an example. The Thai resort island now has around 60% population vaccinated which far higher than the national average of 5%, and when its vaccination rate hit at least 70% to kick-start the so called Phuket Sandbox Plan.
|2021-06-17||Phuket Sandbox Plan Read More|
Thailand aims at quarantine free travel admitting vaccinated foreign visitors from low-risk source markets on July 1, who can stay for any period of time. Having stayed for at least 14 days in Phuket, these foreigners can travel to other parts of Thailand.
|2021-06-17||High vaccination rate drastically cut infections in Phuket Read More|
Phuket, which has a high vaccination rate, reported 6 new cases over the past week with some days of no local infections, as compared to the national average of 2790 new cases a day about a third of which in Bangkok.
|2021-06-16||Early recovery of domestic travel expected Read More|
According to McKinsey, countries with sizeable domestic travel market will recover earlier. For example, China’s domestic market will see recovery as early as 2022 to be followed by Japan and Germany in 2023.
|2021-06-16||Hong Kong exhibition industry report big loss Read More|
Recent government statistics report Hong Kong travel, convention and exhibition industries lost 72.5% income in the first quarter this year.
|2021-06-15||Post pandemic Business Travel to lose market share Read More|
Management consultancy McKinsey & Company on June 3 predicted vaccination and other factors resulting in leisure travel to recover fully but business travel will lose as much as 20 percent as many which been adopting technology during the pandemic not going back.
|2021-06-11||South Korea in discussion to reopen border Read More|
On June 9, South Korea said considering nationals fully vaccinated can join group tours to safe overseas destinations, been talking to Singapore and Taiwan for Travel Bubble arrangement, and will talk to Guam, Saipan and Thailand to reopen air travel.
|2021-06-11||Over 800 million vaccine inoculations in China Read More|
Media reported that China (mainland) as of June 8 administered 809.0 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines.
|2021-06-10||US issue new pandemic safety rating for Countries Read More|
The US Centres for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) issued new ratings on June 7, which widely considered as easing restriction. CDC’s level 1 rating for countries, which deem the safest and anyone fully vaccinated can go, include Singapore, Israel, South Korea, Iceland, Belize and Albania.
|2021-06-10||US name countries not advisable for non-essential visit by unvaccinated individual Read More|
US name countries not advisable for non-essential visit by unvaccinated individual
|2021-06-09||Global tourism recover to pre-pandemic by 2024 Read More|
Based on the 10 countries with the largest outbound markets in 2019 with such expenditures then totaled US$4 trillion and other factors, management consultancy McKinsey & Company on June 3 predicted global tourism will most likely recover to 2019 levels by 2024.
|2021-06-09||In 2024 World’s top 10 outbound markets to grow 8% growth from 2019 Read More|
For the above top 10 outbound markets, McKinsey expects an 8 percent increases from pre-pandemic levels to US$4.3 trillion in 2024.
|2021-06-08||Spain to open to vaccinated travelers Read More|
On June 7, Spain open its borders to vaccinated travelers from all over the world. The Spanish government target to draw 45 million inbound by the end of this year.
|2021-06-08||Indonesia to form Travel Bubble with 5 Countries Read More|
Quoting Sonny Harmadi, an Indonesian official, media reported on June 7 the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Innovation already completed planning to form travel bubble with UAE, Qatar, China, Singapore and Holland.
|2021-06-07||China quicken pace of vaccination Read More|
Media report China, as of June 2, already administered 704 million doses of vaccine, nearly half of which in the month of May. From Oxford University’s “Our World in Data”, so far the world administered around 1.9 billion doses of vaccine, of which around 1/3 from China.
|2021-06-04||Seven EU countries are using vaccine passport now Read More|
Seven EU member states: Greece, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Croatia and Bulgaria been started using vaccine passport, ahead of other EU members whose planned to use on July 1. The vaccine passport allows fully vaccinated travelers with tested negative within 72 hours can travel freely inside EU without quarantine.
|2021-06-03||Hong Kong no locally infected cases for 40 consecutive days Read More|
The case of a police officer, who recently has been identified as infected with Covid-19, now clear yesterday as his test sample was found to be polluted. That means as of June 2, Hong Kong saw no locally infected case for 40 consecutively days, and cumulatively has 11849 cases.
|2021-06-02||Thailand confirm opening Phuket to international visitors as planned Read More|
On June 1, The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) assures tourism industry the “Phuket Sandbox” project, which open Phuket to fully vaccinated international visitors with negative test result upon arrival, will start as planned on July 1.
|2021-06-01||Recovery of global air travel by IATA Read More|
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicted global number of air passengers would recover to 52% of pre-Covid levels, 88% in 2022, and grow by 5% in 2023.
|2021-05-31||Hong Kong ZERO locally infected cases for 28 days in a row Read More|
All recent 5 cases of suspected locally infected cases in Hong Kong have outbound travel record. After various analysis including DNA sequencing, related authority announced on May 30 they were reclassified as imported cases which mean Hong Kong has no locally infected cases in the past 28 days. On May 30, the city has no new case, neither imported nor locally infected, and cumulatively 11838 cases in total.
|2021-05-28||Pandemic affect Hong Kong Employees Read More|
One recruitment portal online surveyed 4288 employees in Hong Kong, and found in this year 34% respondents got no bonus nor double pay; 34% fully employed got a salary rise while 55% had salary frozen.
|2021-05-27||Hong Kong salary survey found nearly 90% employees no cut in salary during pandemic Read More|
In March this year, a recruitment portal held online survey on 4288 Hong Kong employees, and found only 34% of full time employees will have a raise this year, while 55% had salary frozen.
|2021-05-27||Hong Kong citizens spent less during pandemic Read More|
In March this year an international bank surveyed online 1202 Hong Kong citizens with monthly earning at least HK$ 12000 and aged between 21 and 60. Before the pandemic, their personal monthly spending averaged HK$12300 which dropped to HK$10700 during pandemic.
|2021-05-26||Hong Kong to launch Sea-cation Read More|
Hong Kong government in discussion with cruise lines to launch Sea-cation in later half of the coming summer. Cruise ships, which leave and return to Hong Kong, will not go to other destination. However, crew and travelers are all required to be fully vaccinated.
|2021-05-26||European Cruises to resume services in July Read More|
From July this year, Viking Cruise will resume services with routes covering Portugal, France and River Rhine but only accept vaccinated travelers, and MSC to resume North Europe routes in the same month.
|2021-05-26||Market News Summary Read More|
|2021-05-25||Findings of TKS and TIC joint public survey on Hong Kong post pandemic travel Read More|
Held in the first week of May, the online survey received 1394 replies drawn mainly from ITE public visitors! It covers pent up travel demand, future travel budget, acceptable frequency of Covid-19 test, package tour or FIT, and factors affecting destination choices etc. For more details, please see press release on May 20 on www.itehk.com or click following link.
|2021-05-25||Joint Public Survey finds strong pent-up Outbound Travel Demand in Hong Kong Read More|
After travel restrictions lifted, 18% will travel abroad within 1 month, another 26% within 2 to 3 months, and another 22% within 4 to 6 months.
|2021-05-25||Public Survey finds majority not cutting back on Travel Spending Read More|
Over half and specifically 52.8% respondents will not cut back and some or 16.8% of all respondents will even increase their travel budget in the coming year.
|2021-05-25||Public Survey finds majority willing to pay more for safer journey Read More|
Nearly three quarter willing to pay more for safer journey! Specifically, 34.4% to pay up to 10% more; 31.7% to 20% more; and 9.9% to pay 30% more.
|2021-05-24||Pandemic continue easing in Hong Kong (May 9 to 22 update) Read More|
In these 14 days, Hong Kong had 25 new Covid-19 cases of which 4 confirmed and another 1 suspected of being locally infected; and overall 1 case of unknown source. These average per day no more than 0.36 locally infected case including the suspected one, and 0.07 case of unknown source. By May 22 Hong Kong had cumulatively a total of 11833 confirmed cases.
|2021-05-21||EU to admit vaccinated non-EU travelers from countries on its Green List Read More|
Media report EU to open border to travelers from non EU countries in its Green list and fully vaccinated of an EU approved vaccine. At present, the Green list has only 7 countries, namely, Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, Thailand plus China if she agrees to reciprocate. A country with 75 cases per 100,000 people over a two weeks period will still be considered for the Green List.
|2021-05-20||Chief Executive said Hong Kong getting close to Zero Local Infection Read More|
Except the case of a 4 years old boy reported on May 15 which is still being investigated, as of May 19, Hong Kong had gone 26 days without untraceable local infection. All family members of the boy whose subsequent tests been negative, and test will be held today if the case is a false alarm. The Chief Executive and medical experts said Hong Kong getting close to zero local infection, and there are suggestion that authority shall start discuss reopening borders with the mainland and Macau.
|2021-05-18||Hong Kong and Singapore Air Travel Bubble postponed again Read More|
Hong Kong and Singapore Air Travel Bubble, which was first planned for in November last year, will again be postponed, and both governments will make further announcement on or before June 13.
|2021-05-18||Hong Kong add 7 countries to high risk list Read More|
On May 17, Hong Kong government announced Argentina, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Holland and Singapore will be included in High Risk list from coming Friday, and non-citizens traveling from these countries not allowed into Hong Kong.
|2021-05-17||Greece open to Vaccinated Foreigners Visitors Read More|
Effective on May 15, foreigners who vaccinated or with negative Covid-19 test can enter Greece and can visit different regions including Greek islands.
|2021-05-17||Greece’s Arrival target this Year Read More|
Greece target attractive some 13.2 million inbound visitors this year, which is 40% of arrivals in 2019. Greece drew only 7 million inbound in 2020.
|2021-05-14||China had fewer hotels this year Read More|
There were 59000 fewer hotels with 15 or more rooms in mainland China in 2020, which mean losing 2.294 million rooms. While budget hotels lost 2.072 rooms, chain hotels gained some 166000 rooms in the same year.
|2021-05-14||IATA project bigger loss for airlines Read More|
IATA revised forecast in end April and estimated that airlines will lose a total of US$48 billion in 2021, while its last estimate was US$38 billion.
|2021-05-13||Locally infected cases in Hong Kong averaged 0.57 case per day Read More|
In the 14 days from April 28 to May 11, Hong Kong reported a total of 8, which average 0.57 case per day, of locally infected cases, of which only 1 is of unknown source. In fact, there been consecutive days with zero locally infected cases. On May 12, Hong Kong reported 2 newly confirmed Covid-19 cases, one imported and the other locally infected; and cumulatively 11815 confirmed cases.
|2021-05-12||Hong Kong and Singapore Travel Bubble on schedule Read More|
Quoting Singapore foreign minister, media reported on May 10 that Travel Bubble between Singapore and Hong Kong will as scheduled be launched on May 26, though it still necessary in coming days to monitor the situation.
|2021-05-11||Countries now ahead in Vaccinations Read More|
According to the University of Oxford, Israel and Seychelles are the countries having fully vaccinated more than half of their populations, while Britain, Bhutan and USA are the handful of countries at least partially vaccinated nearly 50% or more of their population.
|2021-05-10||Triple digits growth for China’s Domestic Travel Business Read More|
In mid-April, China Tourism Research Institute projected domestic travelers in the country in the first half of 2021 will total 1.722 billion, up 85%, generating tourism income total RMB1.28 trillion, up 102%; while the corresponding figures for the first quarter of 2021 were respectively 697 million travelers, up 136%, and RMB0.56 trillion, up 150%.
|2021-05-07||Oktoberfest 2021 will again be cancelled Read More|
Germany's Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, which draws some 6 million visitors each year from late September to October, will this year again be cancelled.
|2021-05-06||Turkey to lower entry requirement on Covid-19 test Read More|
According to Turkey Airline, effective from May 15 travelers from following countries and regions entering Turkey will not be required to submit Covid-19 test. They include for examples mainland China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and Japan etc.
|2021-05-05||EU Commission propose admitting fully vaccinated foreigners Read More|
The European Commission recommended on May 3 that all persons coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation and all people fully vaccinated with EU endorsed vaccine be allowed entry for non-essential purpose. This require approval by EU member countries who start discussion the next day.
|2021-05-05||UK will announce Travel ‘green list’ for citizens’ outbound holiday Read More|
On May 4, media reported UK trade minister said the country will shortly announce a green list of countries for quarantine-free travel from UK then people can book for a holiday.
|2021-05-04||Hong Kong outbound tours to Singapore start in summer as flights fully booked Read More|
Chairman of Hong Kong Travel Industry Council believes outbound tours to Singapore can only be started in summer when there are more flights, as in the first two weeks after the launching Travel Bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore flights are already fully booked.
|2021-05-04||Hong Kong to start local tours in this month Read More|
By the end of last week (May 1), Hong Kong Travel Industry Council received from 29 Hong Kong travel agents registrations for over 100 local tours. At the earliest, Hong Kong will start local tours by the end of May.
|2021-05-04||Hong Kong preparing for more Travel Bubble Read More|
The Chairman of Hong Kong Travel Industry Council understand the government been talking about setting up travel bubble to over 10 jurisdictions, which includes Thailand, Japan and South Korea etc.
|2021-05-04||Daily new Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong from May 3 to April 20 Read More|
Table: Daily new Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong from May 3 to April 20
Hong Kong in the two weeks from May 3 to April 20 had 6 days zero locally infected case; an average of 1.4 locally infected cases per day; and including both imported and locally infected an average of 7.2 cases per day.
|2021-05-03||More hotel bookings in China during May Holiday Read More|
Quoting statistics of travel portal, media reported on April 30 hotel bookings in China (mainland) during the May Day Holiday at least 40% higher than same period in 2019.
|2021-04-30||Hong Kong discuss with Macau to reopen border Read More|
Quoting the Chief Executive, media reported yesterday Hong Kong been following up with Macau for re-opening border.
|2021-04-29||Travel Bubble News Summary Read More|
|2021-04-28||Hong Kong to set up travel bubble with Australia & New Zealand Read More|
After the Hong Kong and Singapore Travel Bubble, Hong Kong Economic Secretary said Australia and New Zealand most likely will be the next destinations to set up travel bubble.
|2021-04-28||China Outbound in 2019 Read More|
From the China Tourism Academy, the country had 155 million outbound tourists in 2019 who spent more than US$133 billion abroad.
|2021-04-27||Hong Kong and Singapore to start Travel Bubble in May Read More|
Travel Bubble which allows quarantine free travel between Hong Kong and Singapore will take off on May 26. In the first two weeks, there will be one flight a day in each direction for a maximum of 200 passengers in each flight. Starting from June 10, the number of daily flights will be increased to two in each direction.
|2021-04-27||Positive reaction from Hong Kong tourists to Bubble despite costing more Read More|
The Chairman of Hong Kong Travel Industry Council predict in the beginning travel cost high so business travelers dominate. More flights in June will lower travel cost and package tour for 4 days 3 nights will then cost HK$5000 to 6000. However, a major local travel agent report yesterday receiving many enquiries from regular clients who find it attractive even if the package tour to Singapore will cost HK$6000 to 7000.
|2021-04-27||Cathay report tickets of inaugural flights to Singapore sold out Read More|
According to Cathay official website, inaugural flight on May 26 to Singapore, which cost HK$8700 round trip, already sold out. But ticket price will drop in the second stage in June to HK$3900 round trip.
|2021-04-26||Travel ranked third consumption items in China’s survey Read More|
China’s largest survey found top three items on the nation’s consumption list in 2020 are respectively Digital Products like mobile and computer at 48.7%; Household appliances and electronic products at 41.7% and travel at 33.4%.
|2021-04-23||Thailand official confirm Phuket re-open as planned Read More|
Thailand Deputy Prime Minister on April 20 said Phuket will as planned re-opening on July 1 this year to vaccinated foreign tourists and waive their quarantine requirement.
|2021-04-23||Hong Kong-Singapore Travel Bubble to launch in May Read More|
Hong Kong media report details of travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore will at the earliest be announced in early next week and will start officially at the end of May.
|2021-04-22||Hong Kong and Guangdong in discussion to prepare for Cross Border Travel Read More|
Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health confirmed the city now holding technical discussions with Guangdong on health code to prepare for resuming cross border travel.
|2021-04-22||Singapore cut short quarantine period for travelers from Hong Kong Read More|
Effective at 23.59 on April 22, quarantine period for travelers from Hong Kong to Singapore will be cut short to 7 days from the current 14 days. Last week, Hong Kong announced quarantine period for vaccinated travelers from Singapore will be cut down to 7 days.
|2021-04-21||Hong Kong again few locally infected cases in past 14 days Read More|
In the past 14 days, the city had 37 local infected cases or an average of 2.64 cases per day; and 175 new cases of which 79% imported. On April 19, Hong Kong have cumulatively a total of 11696 confirmed cases. Since mid-March, the city been have daily locally infected case in single digit.
|2021-04-20||More domestic tourists in China’s May Day Holiday than 2019 Read More|
China’s domestic tourists during May Day Holiday this year may exceed 200 million, which comparatively is higher than the total in 2019. Among them, 70% will take trip to other province and over 30% family travel.
|2021-04-19||Bookings indicate travel boom for in China’s May Day Holiday Read More|
By April 14, C-trip received bookings for air ticket, hotel, attraction ticket and car rental for the May Day Holiday rose respectively by 23%, 43%, 114% and 126% comparing to same period in 2019.
|2021-04-16||China’s domestic Travel fully recover in coming Holiday Read More|
China Tourism Research Institute predict the country’s domestic travel during the May Day Holiday will recover more or less to pre-pandemic level. During the Ching Ming Festival earlier this month, there were 102 million domestic travelers which about 95% that of pre-pandemic.
|2021-04-15||Hong Kong and Singapore Travel Bubble in Final Stage Read More|
On April 13, Singapore Transport Minister confirm finalizing details of revised agreement with Hong Kong, and expressed hope to announce the plan soon.
|2021-04-15||Hong Kong agents to relaunch local tours in early May Read More|
As talk with authority on covid-19 prevention making progress, Hong Kong travel agents are talking about relaunching local package tours, each of which with maximum 30 tourists, in early May.
|2021-04-14||Chief Executive (CE) said Hong Kong now rank among world’s low risk areas Read More|
According to the CE, Hong Kong by international standard now rank among the low risk areas. In the past 14 days and on a 7-days moving average, there daily are 2 locally infected cases and among them a daily average of 0.7 case of unknown source. Currently, there are 125 Covid-19 patients in hospitals and 90% of them with stable conditions. The fourth pandemic wave since November last year now very much under control.
|2021-04-13||Chief Executive announced Roadmap to re-open Hong Kong' s Borders Read More|
In a press conference on April 12, Hong Kong CE announced visitor quarantine to be eased with some start being effective in this month:
a. At the end of April, for Hong Kong Residents Returning from Guangdong Province under the Return2hk Scheme will be expanded to other mainland provinces and cities to be exempted from the 14-day compulsory quarantine requirement;
b. By mid-May, mainlanders and people in mainland China can enjoy quarantine free entry to the city; this apply to all type of travelers but subject to quota;
c. Quarantine period for vaccinated travelers from low risk countries will be shortened to 7 days or less;
d. Quarantine period for vaccinated travelers from medium risk countries will be shortened to 7 days or less;
e. Vaccinated Hong Kong citizens can travel to destinations with Travel Bubble Arrangement, or enjoy shorter or quarantine free entry provided unilaterally by some destinations.
|2021-04-12||Huge pent-up travel demand in Hong Kong Read More|
An Alliance of Hong Kong travel agents interviewed last week over 2000 citizens and found over 90% citizens hope to take overseas holiday.
|2021-04-12||Singapore and China working on mutual recognizing of Health Code Read More|
Singaporean Foreign Minister said to have spent consideration time with China’s Foreign Minister in meeting on March 31, and told media travel between the two countries, which are working out a system to mutually recognize each other’s health certification, may soon resume.
|2021-04-09||Survey find nearly 30% Hong Kong citizens worth 10 million or more Read More|
From November last year to January this year, an US bank interviewed by phone over 4000 Hong Kong citizens aged between 21 and 79. The survey found there are some 515,000 citizens or 28.7% of the population with net worth at or over HK$10 million.
|2021-04-09||A quarter of these Hong Kong multi-millionaires own more liquid asset Read More|
Among these multi-millionaires, 25% report an increase in their liquid asset comparing to the end of year 2019. The median increase was 1 million. 65% of them cited better investment return as reason for the increase.
|2021-04-08||China and South Korea on mutual recognition of Health Code Read More|
Spokesman of China Foreign Ministry told reporters on April 6 that China and South Korea will liaise on setting up a mechanism to mutually recognize health code
|2021-04-08||Pent-up demand may come back faster than expected Read More|
Quoting an analyst, Reuters reported on April 5 in a piece about reopening border to tourists that Maldives seen hotel occupancy rates bounce back to 70 to 80% despite cases of the virus.
|2021-04-07||Thailand hopes worldwide vaccinations will push travel demand Read More|
Reuters reported Thai government wants at least 100,000 tourists to visit Phuket in the third quarter, and the whole nation drawing some 6.5 million visitors by the end of this year who will have spent 350 billion baht.
|2021-04-07||Hong Kong continue reporting very few locally infected cases Read More|
The city had 29 local infected cases in the past two weeks, which average 2.07 cases per day. In each of the past 18 days, local infected case been in single digit.
|2021-04-01||Local infected cases start dropping to zero in Hong Kong Read More|
For 11 consecutive days in late March, Hong Kong saw the daily number of locally infected cases dropped to single digits with 2 days even down to zero, and in this period averaged 3.27 cases per day.
|2021-03-31||Hong Kong in talks with 16 jurisdictions on travel arrangement Read More|
On March 29, Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development said talks with Singapore on the delayed travel bubble resumed, and the city is in talks with 16 jurisdictions on travel arrangements for those who are vaccinated.
|2021-03-31||Air New Zealand said domestic business travel almost back to normal Read More|
On March 30, Air New Zealand reported domestic business travel been back to 90% of pre-pandemic levels.
|2021-03-30||Europe's largest budget carrier plan more flights for this summer Read More|
Anticipating a surge in demand for holidays, Marketing Director of Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier, revealed on March 24 plan to have 2500 flights a week to, from and across Spain this summer.
|2021-03-29||US Industry groups call for plan for international travel Read More|
Over 20 industry groups in USA, including Chamber of Commerce, airlines and the US Travel Association, called for a roadmap so a plan can be in place for international travel by this summer, and accordingly sent a letter to the White House.
|2021-03-26||Hong Kong pandemics easing and government to relax tour restrictions Read More|
In Hong Kong in 8 of the past 10 days in March, the daily number of new case due to local infection dropped to single digit. For the first time in 4 months, all 4 of the locally infected cases have known sources, and media reported government consider relaxing restrictions on local tours.
|2021-03-25||Singapore and Malaysia to recognize mutually vaccine certificates Read More|
On March 23, Malaysia and Singapore agreed to make preparations for mutual recognition of each other’s vaccine certificates to facilitate future cross-border travel.
|2021-03-24||China may achieve Herd Immunity earliest end this Year Read More|
Quoting senior official from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at the end of this year or early 2022, China can vaccine 70% to 80% of her citizens thus largely achieving herd immunity.
|2021-03-23||Israel study prove vaccine effective in lowering Covid-19 inflection Read More|
Based on comparison between 2 groups each of 600,000 people with one group been inoculated with Covid-19 vaccine and the other group no inoculation, Clalit - Israel’s largest medical service group found infection rate of the vaccinated dropped by 94% for those with no symptom and by 97% for those with symptom.
|2021-03-23||EU's aim on Covid-19 vaccination Read More|
The EU targets, by the end of this summer, to vaccine at least 70% of its adult population or 255 million people. Some 11% of EU residents had inoculated as of mid-March.
|2021-03-22||Foreign travelers to visit Bali in June Read More|
Indonesia will offer travel corridor to countries with successful vaccination program and will also offer in return reciprocal benefit. Bali, which is included in a pilot project, start receive foreign travelers in June / July.
|2021-03-19||California Walt Disney theme parks to reopen in April Read More|
Two Walt Disney theme parks in California will reopen on April 30. Requiring both advance booking and ticket, attendance at first will be kept at about 15 percent. Various safety measures include wearing mask, temperature check at entrance and social distancing in the parks.
|2021-03-18||China issue visa to vaccinated foreigners II Read More|
China's embassies in USA, Japan, Pakistan, Israel. Thailand and Gabon have also issued statement which promise to streamline visa arrangement for foreigners who has inoculated with Chinese vaccine for Covid-19 and to visit China for business or humanitarian reason.
|2021-03-18||Hong Kong lobby the mainland ease inbound restrictions for vaccinated citizens Read More|
On March 17, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong said in the city’s Legislative Council her government has been speaking to the mainland authority to waive some parts of inbound restrictions for vaccinated Hong Kong citizens.
|2021-03-17||China issue visa to vaccinated foreigners I Read More|
From March 15, China issue visa only for business and family reason to certain travelers from the Philippines who have been inoculated with a Chinese made Covid-19 vaccine. This comes after similar arrangement for foreigners living in Hong Kong.
|2021-03-16||Thailand resort island to reopen to Tourists Read More|
Koh Samui, resort island in southern Thailand, plans to open fully on Oct 1 this year to vaccinated foreign tourists without quarantine, according to the island’s tourism association.
|2021-03-16||Seychelles to fully reopen to tourists in March Read More|
From Seychelles Tourism Board, starting from March 25 foreign tourists who submit proof of PCR negative test taken 72 hours before departure can enter Seychelles without quarantine, but travelers from South Africa still cannot enter until further notice.
|2021-03-15||China to reach herd immunity by mid next year Read More|
Media reported China plans to inoculate 560 million citizens by the end of June, and another 330 million by the end of this year. By the middle of next year China will vaccinates as much as 80% of the population then reach heard immunity, according to China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
|2021-03-12||Leisure and personal travel to return later this year Read More|
In media interview, the director of IATA said personal and leisure travel will return from the second half of this year as borders reopen to tourists hungry to be free again; but business travel will have a slower recovery.
|2021-03-11||IATA and airlines to launch Travel Pass Mobile APP Read More|
The International Air Transport Association's (IATA) launches a Travel Pass mobile application which allow airlines and immigration authorities to collect and share travelers’ vaccination and test results. Singapore Airline will use this app from March 15 in some routes for two weeks and 30 other airlines will start trial in the coming 2 months.
|2021-03-10||China launched “Int’l Travel Health Certificate” facilitate international travel in pandemic Read More|
The China Version of an “International Travel Health Certificate” is available for Chinese citizen via Wechat. The e-certificate shows the holder’s nucleic acid test and serum antibody results, vaccine inoculation, etc. China’s foreign minister broke the news on March 7, which some foreign media describe it as a first step to a global health passport to allow for and facilitate international travel amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
|2021-03-08||EU to launch Vaccine Passport Read More|
In the virtual summit held on Feb 25, leaders from EU member states agree to launch digital vaccine passports likely available by summer to help tourism industry to recover.
|2021-03-03||ETC Surveys reflect growing interest on Domestic & Intra-European Travel Read More|
European Travel Commission, which conducted surveys in last November and December, found growing interest to travel. The December survey found 52% of the European respondents plan to travel within the coming 6 months, which is 5% higher than that in November.
|2021-03-03||EU members push for Vaccine Passport Read More|
To restart tourism, six European member countries, namely, Spain, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Malta and Slovakia issued on March 1 a joint statement requesting EU to standardize requirements such as vaccine passport for re-starting non-essential travel.
|2021-03-02||Airline booking grew by times in UK Read More|
After UK government announced recovery roadmap, EasyJet report its air ticket booking grew 337% while holiday booking by 630%.
|2021-03-01||UK citizens book outbound holidays in second half of this year Read More|
While TUI received many bookings for holiday starting in July, another travel agent THOMAS COOK which saw web traffic grew 100% after UK government announcement, report many family book for holiday in August and Christmas.
|2021-02-25||UK reported huge pent-up Travel Demand Read More|
Many UK citizens, after government announced recovery road-map on Feb 22, started booking for overseas holiday though UK will only resume international travel the earliest in May. Media reported on Feb 24 that the country’s leading travel agent, TUI, already reported booking for outbound tours grew by 500%.
|2021-02-24||No quarantine for visitors from mainland China to Macau Read More|
Starting from Feb 23, Macau will admit all visitors from mainland China without requiring them to quarantine, including cities with recent covid-19 outbreak.
|2021-02-23||Fewer marriages in Hong Kong during pandemics Read More|
In 2020 there were a total of 28161 marriages in Hong Kong, which dropped by 36.7% as compared to 44520 marriages in 2019.
|2021-02-22||China Outbound to Japan in 2020 Read More|
In 2020, some 1.07 million Chinese travelers visited Japan, which a drop of 88.9% compared to 2019.
|2021-02-19||China outbound to Japan in last January Read More|
Some 10200 Chinese travelers visited Japan in January this year, down 98.9% over same period last year. In each of the three consecutive months including January, Japan received over 10000 Chinese inbound.
|2021-02-18||Hong Kong citizens live longest in the World Read More|
On average, Hong Kong citizen has a life span of 84.7 years in 2019 which is higher than Japan at 83.7 years; and for two consecutive years rank first in the world, from World Health Organization.
|2021-02-17||Canada’s ban shut down Alaska Cruise this year Read More|
Earlier this month, Canada announced extending ban on cruise ships to February next year. That effectively shutting down this summer a large part of the popular cruise trips to Alaska, which attracted a record 1.33 million cruise guests in 2019.
|2021-02-11||Travel trade survey in Hong Kong: Recovery Read More|
Where can resume inbound and outbound travel within six months? The survey found some 20% respondents believe in local tours, the Greater Bay Area and other cities in mainland China; 6.6% South-east Asia; and 3% Europe and Americas etc.
|2021-02-10||Travel trade survey in Hong Kong: Great supports to reopen Border Read More|
The online survey also found 92.5% of the respondents hope at the soonest to reopen border with mainland China and 92.8% hope Hong Kong to establish travel bubble with overseas.
|2021-02-09||Travel trade survey in Hong Kong supports vaccine passport Read More|
An online survey in late January in Hong Kong, which received 1113 replies from travel agents and 662 from hotels, found nearly 90% of respondents urge the government to speed up discussions with other regions and countries to establish a vaccine passport.
|2021-02-08||World tourism industry suffered big loss in 2020 Read More|
In 2020, int'l tourist arrivals dropped 74% represents 1.1 billion fewer int'l tourist arrivals, an estimated loss of USD 1.3 trillion int'l tourism income than in the previous year, according to UNWTO.
|2021-02-05||Phuket Thailand plans to reopen in coming October Read More|
Phuket’s business associations plan to pool fund to vaccinate the island’s population and apply to Thai government to waive a mandatory 14-day quarantine requirement to reopen to vaccinated foreign visitors by October this year.
|2021-02-04||Chinese Skiers in 2019 Read More|
In 2019, there were about 13.05 million domestic skiers in China, an on average skied 1.6 times in that year. Among all skiers, 72.04% were one-time-only skiers.
|2021-02-03||Hong Kong wedding industry hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic Read More|
Around 17000 registered marriages between Jan and Sep 2020, a sharp drop of 45% from the same period of last year. But some suppliers in the wedding industry suffer business loss of 90%.
|2021-02-03||Updates on COVID-19 Situation in Hong Kong Read More|
|2021-02-02||Much lower arrivals to Thailand due to global pandemic Read More|
Foreign arrivals to Thailand in 2020 dropped 83% to 6.7 million, and Thailand’s state planning agency predicts foreign arrivals will drop further to 5 million this year.
|2021-02-01||Thai Association urge easing quarantine to boost Tourism Read More|
The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) recently urged the government to remove a two-week quarantine for those tourists inoculated against Covid-19, and with that implemented tourism could recover in the second half of 2021 and inbound visitors could reach 10 million this year.
|2021-01-29||Hong Kong citizens held more cash in uncertainty Read More|
From HSBC survey, due to the market turmoil and unemployment uncertainty, respondents in favor of keeping more cash! Allocation of liquid assets with 66% in cash / savings, up by 3ppts and 34% for investment, dipped 3ppts from previous survey in June 2020.
|2021-01-28||Survey found Hong Kong citizens can cover 6 months expenses by saving Read More|
In last September and October, Hong Kong Bank interviewed 1507 the city’s holders of bank account aged 18 to 64 found two-third of them have saving sufficient for covering basic living expenses for 6 months even without any income in the period.
|2021-01-27||China recorded few family travel in 2020 Read More|
Statistics show family travel in China dropped to an annual average of 2.4 times in 2020 from 2.7 times in 2019.
|2021-01-26||China’s Family Travel Bookings by Themes Read More|
Theme parks at 27% ranked top, to be followed by Natural Scenery at 22%, Architecture at 19%, City Sightseeing at 12% and Museums at 11%.
|2021-01-25||Female dominate China’s Family Travel Bookings Read More|
Female account for 74% of the bookings, and those age between 7 and 12 years old account for 60% children taking part in family travel.
|2021-01-22||Family Travel bookings in China by Parent’s Age Read More|
Based on bookings with children in past year, C-trip, China’s major travel portal, “post-80s” parents accounted for 41%, "post-90s" parents accounted for 32%, and "post-70s" parents accounted for 20%.
|2021-01-21||China's ice and snow tourism suffered big losses in 2019/2020 Read More|
In the 2018-2019 winter season, China’s ice and snow tourists totaled 224 million and dropped by about 130 million during the 2019-2020 winter season.
|2021-01-20||China expect more ice-snow tourism travelers Read More|
China's ice and snow tourism travelers projected to 230 million trips during the current winter season which lasts from Nov20 to Mar21, generate revenue of more than RMB390 billion.
|2021-01-19||Chinese skiers to spend more in coming year Read More|
A report released by China Tourism Academy in early January on ice-and-snow tourism, 82% respondents are interest in short-distance ice-snow tours while 53% will keep or spend more for such trips than last year.
|2021-01-18||Beijing saw more Skiers in New Year Holiday Read More|
Beijing Skiing Association Chairman reported skiing grounds near Beijing during the three days New Year Holiday this year saw 40% to 50% more skiers than last year.
|2021-01-15||Huge medical tourism market from Asia Pacific Read More|
The global medical tourism market is forecast to be worth US$65.8 billion in 2025, which the Asia-Pacific will account for around 40%.
|2021-01-14||Huge private sector medical expenditure in Hong Kong Read More|
From report by the Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau, the city’s private sector medical expenditures in 2019 totaled HK$86.9 billion or US$11.1 billion, which is projected to grow at compound rate of 7.6% per year and will reach Hk$134 billion in 2025. Good potential for health / wellness tourism.
|2021-01-13||China's Medical Tourists Read More|
A study in early 2020 found 65% of the mainland Chinese who went abroad for medical treatments and services in 2019 came from high income groups of entrepreneurs and enterprises’ senior management; and 99% of these business went to destinations like USA, UK and Japan.
|2021-01-12||Hotel rates went up in China during New Year Read More|
From China’s major travel portal, C-trip, hotel rates during the New Year Holiday this year are higher than same period last year with three star hotels increasing by 23%, four star by 21% and five star by 17%.
|2021-01-11||Macau Hotels raised prices during New Year Read More|
Rate of Macau's hotels between Dec 31 and Jan 3 average MOP$1127.6, which on the whole a rise of 7.6% over the last Golden Week in October; and rate for five stars hotels average MOP$1447.7 while four stars hotels at MOP$701.1.
|2021-01-08||China outbound to Macau during New Year Read More|
On average, 19629 inbound from mainland China visited Macau each day between Dec 31 and Jan 3, accounting for 92% of the city’s total daily inbound in the period.
|2021-01-08||Updates on COVID-19 Situation in Hong Kong Read More|
|2021-01-07||Hong Kong Business Prospect Survey on Covid-19 impact Read More|
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC) conducted a survey in early November 2020 received 314 companies responded, and found 40% of HK companies expect the city’s business prospects to be negative in 2021, 22% saw their turnover plunge by more than half in the first 10 months of 2020, and 29% already cut down on number of staff comparing to the beginning of last year.
|2021-01-06||Hong Kong to allow vaccine inoculation records be used for travel Read More|
Media report Hong Kong will soon have a new e-booking system for vaccine inoculations, and the government is in talk with other countries over recognizing an electronic record for COVID-19 vaccination may be used for travel purpose.
|2021-01-05||Beijing to restrict travel during coming holidays Read More|
Beijing will during New Year and Chinese New Year discourage travel agencies from various markets and online travel agencies to organize tour groups to the city; while the city’s travel agencies and online travel agencies will also suspend group tours nor selling ticket hotel package to domestic destinations designated as medium or high risk areas.
|2021-01-04||Chamber of Commerce project Hong Kong economy to rise this year Read More|
Mid last month, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce HKGCC projected the city’s economy will drop 6% in 2020 but will rise 3.5% in 2021; and unemployment rate rise to 7% in 2020, and will fall to 4.8% in 2021.


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The new feature will allow users to secure chats on linked devices.
For now only beta testers can avail this feature.
WhatsApp, a messaging platform owned by Meta, is currently working on a new feature that will enable users to secure chats on linked devices.
The development of this feature suggests that the social media company is actively enhancing user privacy on WhatsApp by extending its chat lock feature, which was introduced about a year ago and requires users to input their device password to access chats.
The progress of this feature was revealed by WABetaInfo, a tracker of WhatsApp features. The feature was detected in the WhatsApp beta for Android version 22.214.171.124, indicating that the company is preparing to launch it on the stable version of the app soon.
Secret code feature on WhatsApp
This forthcoming feature will allow users to establish secret codes from the primary device of a WhatsApp account. These codes will only be functional on linked devices to unlock chats.
Since these codes will not be applicable for the main devices, users can set up biometric verification methods such as fingerprint sensor on Android phones and Touch ID or Face ID on iPhones. It’s important to note that biometric methods will not work on linked devices.
Who can access new WhatsApp feature?
According to the report from WABetaInfo, because the feature is exclusively available on the beta version of the app, only beta testers who are enrolled in the beta programme have access to the feature. The social media company has not made any announcements regarding the full roll out of the feature for stable WhatsApp users. However, if you are a regular user and are keen to test out the feature, you need to sign up for the WhatsApp beta programme from the Google Play Store to be eligible.
WhatsApp Introduces One Minute Video Status
WhatsApp has introduced a new feature that users have been eagerly waiting...

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The growing popularity of portable devices such as laptops, smartphones and tablet computers is allowing organisations across the world to completely revolutionise the way they communicate with customers as well as internally.
This has given birth to the idea of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), in which employees are permitted to utilise their own technology inside the organisation to access company resources such as email and information databases.
However many organisations are now realising that using external devices in this manner brings certain risks related to cyber security, and a recent study has confirmed that businesses are being forced to change their vulnerability management protocols in order to adapt to the BYOD era.
The survey, which was sponsored by Juniper Networks and undertaken by Forrester Consulting, saw over 200 IT decision makers from organisations across Australia and New Zealand interviewed as to the way BYOD had affected their business.
More than three quarters – 76 per cent – of respondents indicated that they felt that they are at risk because of BYOD programs, however just 37 per cent affirmed that they felt their company was adequately prepared for this new cyber security threat.
This is concerning when placed in context with another survey published earlier this year by Fortinet which found that, of 3,872 university graduates interviewed, 30 per cent admitted that they would be willing to use non-approved applications on their BYOD device while in the workplace.
That was despite 42 per cent of respondents claiming that they understood the increased threat that BYOD brings, including but not limited to data loss and exposure to external security threats.
According to Mark Iles, the Juniper Networks Australia and New Zealand managing director, businesses looking to protect themselves against the risk of BYOD need to utilise more all-inclusive security protocols rather than solutions.
said Mr Iles in a press release issued August 17.
For that reason, businesses who are currently utilising BYOD programs, or are planning to in the future, should consider undergoing a security audit in order to fully evaluate the potential vulnerabilities of the organisation.


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15th March 2019 – Blockchain assets exchange platform, Gate.io, has today announced the relaunch of its platform for users based in the USA, Canada and Japan. This re-launch will provide users within these countries the ability to spot trade mainnet cryptocurrencies, offering over 200 blockchain assets.
Gate.io prioritises users’ experience by ensuring access to assets is easy and efficient. The platform has been developed to enable enthusiasts to trade and store assets in over 100 of the leading cryptocurrencies. It focuses on empowering its growing user base by guaranteeing a secure process through complete risk control mechanisms as well as the option for customer support. Gate.io is proud to serve over two million traders globally – a number which will doubtless increase significantly following this relaunch in the USA, Canada and Japan.
The news comes after the release of the Wallet.io, an easy and free way for users to access their own wallet which supports major currencies. This platform supports major currencies including BTC and ETH, and is a safe way to hold funds in a similar way to a banking system.
Virgilio Lizardo JR, Vice President of International Affairs at Gate.io, comments: “We are excited to be relaunching our platform to users in the USA, Canada and Japan. We are extremely committed to our users, so being able to offer our platform to residents and citizens of these countries is a huge step forward in our journey. We are always working to ensure our users are provided with high quality security and a seamless experience.”
Press release disclaimer: This is a paid press release. Coin Rivet recommends readers to undertake their own research on the company. Coin Rivet does not endorse and is not liable for any content or products on this page.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.


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Accountancy giant PwC embroiled in bitter legal spat with rival that has lifted lid on secret takeover bid
Accountancy giant PwC is embroiled in a bitter legal spat with a rival that has lifted the lid on a secret takeover bid, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
PwC has obtained an injunction delaying former partner Nicholas Carmichael from joining FTI Consulting over fears its rival could benefit from 'trade secrets'.
Legal documents reveal the dispute dates back to May 2017 when FTI failed in a bid to buy PwC's refinancing and restructuring division.
Legal spat: PwC has obtained an injunction delaying former partner Nicholas Carmichael from joining FTI Consulting
PwC alleges that FTI then tried to recruit some or all partners in this division – including Carmichael. He retired from PwC in January 2018 and was put on gardening leave for a year.
He planned to start working for FTI in February this year. But PwC opposed the move, saying his partnership agreement meant he was not allowed to join a rival within six months of his retirement, which would be July 2019 at the earliest.
PwC told the court Carmichael would have had access to its 'most confidential information and trade secrets', including a 'secure IT library called the Opportunities Unit'. It added: 'The information obtained during work on [PwC] projects is highly confidential and commercially sensitive, and would be of incalculable value to a competitor such as FTI.'
PwC has been granted an interim injunction preventing Carmichael from joining FTI.
There are now set to be further arbitration talks to try to settle the dispute.
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Nintendo's Switch launched last week to generally positive reviews, but a few issues over the weekend could tarnish the early adoption experience. First, Nintendo has confirmed that there's no way to transfer Switch saved games to any other device or microSD card.
As Kotaku points out(Opens in a new window), this is a departure from other Nintendo systems. The Wii U and 3DS were both capable of moving saved games, and the ability to move games to a microSD card to free up space on the Switch's internal drive really shouldn't be problematic in 2017. A Nintendo representative confirmed the issue to Kotaku, saying: "At this time, it is not possible to transfer save data from one Nintendo Switch system to another."
Nintendo has also published an FAQ claiming that dead or stuck pixels on the Switch should be treated as "normal," with no specified allowance for how many dead pixels qualifies a device for replacement.
There does not seem to be an equivalent note on the US side of the Switch, which may mean that the policy isn't in effect here -- or could just mean that Nintendo hasn't gotten around to updating its US website.Image by redditor Certainly some users have gotten consoles that turned out to have more than few stuck pixels, but we don't yet know how Nintendo is dealing with the problem in the US or across the pond.
Beware AquariaNintendo's helpful troubleshooting guidelines also note that the path between the Switch and its Joy-Con controllers must remain free of interfering objects. We've already seen reports from customers who have trouble using the Switch because they wind up blocking the signal with their own body. But Nintendo's troubleshooting recommendations go farther in their recommendations. Specifically, Nintendo warns against(Opens in a new window) putting the Switch:
- Behind a TV
- Near an aquarium
- Placed in or under a metal object
- Pressed against a large amount of wires and cords
- Within three to four feet of another wireless device, such as a wireless speaker or a wireless access point.
The aquarium warning is likely because water can attenuate the wireless signal, but it's hilarious to imagine hundreds or thousands of Switch players squinting at their television screens through rippling water, or angrily blaming deaths on a particularly troublesome fish.If you're still having connection problems even after removing all of your aquaria, Nintendo recommends shutting down or moving all laptops, tablets, wireless headsets, wireless printers, microwaves, wireless speakers, cordless phones, and USB 3.0 devices, including hard drives, thumb drives, and LAN adapters. The company states that in most cases, it should be sufficient to simply move these devices 3-4 feet away, but that if problems don't stop, they should be shut down entirely. While that's a reasonable step to take as part of guaranteeing other hardware isn't causing an issue, it'd be downright ridiculous if having a laptop or USB drive in another room actually caused problems with the Switch. Hopefully this is just Nintendo being cautious, and not a sign that the device will actually suffer interference in such scenarios.


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Singapore-based travel tech specialist Mystifly has unveiled a new global flight data API that aims to bring data-driven certainty to help travel sellers unlock new revenue opportunities while reducing operational costs.
Mystifly Universe is designed to offer a continuous stream of shopping results from Mystifly’s airfare marketplace and actively process close to 300 itinerary options per shopping query. Mystifly’s global customer base gives it an edge for availability of real-time data sets covering both low-cost and full service carriers spanning over 100 point of sales. The data includes a mix of published, web and private fare content.
Rajeev Kumar, founder & CEO, said: “We live in an era where airline distribution is becoming even more complicated. With full service airlines looking at alternatives to traditional distribution and with low-cost carriers and ultra-low-cost carriers emerging, airfare types and its distribution has become even more fragmented and complex. The cost of search and data processing has increased multi-fold for travel intermediaries.”
Bharat Goyal co-founder & CTPO, opined that Mystifly Universe is “the most affordable and intensive data source for flight information across the globe”, and allows customers to solve multiple use cases including reducing their infrastructure cost by accessing Mystifly’s processed flight itinerary data along-with pricing, fare and ticket attributes as well as airline ancillary data.
He added that customers have the option to receive data in XML and JSON formats in real-time data stream, and to customise airline data based on their preferred parameters. Data filters include specific airlines, markets, date ranges, duration of travel, itinerary types and fare types.


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EV Cargo Logistics is reporting volumes at “Christmas levels” as it responds to increased demand for groceries across the UK. And the company said “a collaborative spirit” has developed across the industry, as it works with subcontractors and other hauliers to ensure shelves remained stocked in the face of significant operational challenges. It said a call from EV Cargo business Jigsaw for hauliers with spare capacity generated over 150 responses in just 48 hours and CM Downton had switched driver […]
The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) is calling for transport operators with spare capacity to get in touch so they can be matched with suppliers to ensure the security of the supply chain during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Tuffnells has pledged to guarantee anyone out of work because of COVID-19 an interview as it looks to hire more than 100 new warehouse workers and lorry drivers.


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JRR Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” legacy, Marvel and Star Wars It could become a multi-billion dollar franchise on the scale of movie universes.
Thomas Dey, CEO of ACF Investment Bank, which brokered the sale of the intellectual property rights of The Lord of the Rings to the Swedish Embracer Group, has announced that the Lord of the Rings series will be released by Marvel and Star Wars He said that it could turn into a cinematic universe on a huge scale.
Embracer has acquired motion picture, video game, board game, merchandising, theme parks and stage production rights to both the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” franchises. Additionally, they own rights to other Middle-earth-related literary works authorized by the Tolkien Estate and HarperCollins.
Speaking at MIPCOM, which is held in Cannes every year and is organized for the international sales of the series, to provide funds to international production partners and to set the project development agenda, Dey shared the details of the Embracer agreement, and that the Lord of the Rings will be unlocked and, with new productions, Marvel and Marvel. Star Wars He stated that it could reach a size exceeding $ 6 million.
Embracer Group’s focus is expected to be on gaming, the company’s “strongest growth and monetization area”. However, new movies and TV series were also signaled. The company’s press release stated that its future plans include “to explore additional films based on iconic characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn, and other characters from the literary works of JRR Tolkien.”


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Swisscom, the largest carrier in Switzerland, let it slip via Twitter that the Nokia Lumia 900 would be launching by the end of February. The Lumia 900 has been rumored recently to be a larger version of the gorgeous Lumia 800, but beyond rumors nothing has been confirmed about this device. Hence, the Twitter exchange, although possibly a mistake, will certainly fuel more speculation.
A customer by the Twitter handle @Gimly81 asked @Swisscom_Care about the launch dates for the Lumia 800, the Lumia 900, and the HTC Titan. To that, the Swisscom Care team employee replied that the Lumia 800 would arrive in January, followed by the Lumia 900 in February, and that the carrier would not be stocking the HTC Titan.
However, the Swisscom employee responded not long after with another tweet correcting the previous message. The tweet said, “the Nokia Lumia 710 will be available by end of Feb. We’re not informed about the device you mentioned. Please excuse the mistake.” This could either be a true mistake or perhaps a retraction at the request of Nokia.
So far, rumors point to the Nokia Lumia 900 as having a 4.3-inch AMOLED display and a 1.4GHz processor. It’s expected to run Windows Phone Tango, the successor to the current Mango update and is believed to arrive sometime in Q1 of 2012. Hence, it could debut at Mobile World Congress next year.
[via Unwired View]


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Zimbabwe Tourism Authority spokesperson Sugar Chagonda said though they had called for auditions from all the provinces, the models were mostly from Harare and Bulawayo.
"We would have wanted models from other cities likes Mutare, Gweru and Masvingo but we only got responses from Harare and Bulawayo. "There will be workshops for models on grooming and teaching them about current affairs, and they will also visit Great Zimbabwe for them to appreciate the beauty of the country," he said.
The pageant, that is running under the theme "Celebrating the beauty of diversity", will see young women aged between 18 and 24 years taking part. The minimum height required is 1,7 metres.
Chagonda said the queen will lead the proceedings of the Zimbabwe International Carnival with the aim of empowering young women. "The ZTA is aiming at creating a platform in modelling where modelling enthusiasts come up with pageants that will cater for other models.
"This will also improve the standards of the modelling industry in general as well as its growth," he said. Chagonda said an organising committee had been set up to consider the rules and key attributes that will be used to judge the winners in line with internationally recognised standards.
He, however, said ZTA was considering educational qualifications. "The winner of the prestigious pageant will represent Zimbabwe on the international arena, that is the reason we decided not to deviate from international standards. "We are inviting Zimbabweans who live in the country to take part since the queen is supposed to serve in her respective community.
"Suppose a Zimbabwean in the Diaspora wins they are likely to take the crown and leave," he said. Chagonda promised lucrative prizes for the winners stating that the traditional sponsors, among them businessmen Dr Philip Chiyangwa and Chief Okeke had indicated their willingness to contribute vehicles to the winners.


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Some markets open ahead of notification in Rawalpindi
Confusion prevails over post-lockdown regulations
RAWALPINDI: Some markets of Rawalpindi opened up on Saturday, while others remained shut, in absence of any directive from the provincial government regarding lifting of the lockdown that had been imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
The provincial government had not issued a clear notification regarding opening of markets, therefore many shopkeepers were perplexed whether to lift shutters on not.
In the first part of the day, the traders kept waiting for any development. By midday, shopkeepers in the Saddar area lifted their shutters and started sales.
China's Wuhan, where the coronavirus emerged, begins to lift its lockdown
Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industries Vice President Nadeem Shaikh said traders were grateful to the government for resolving the long standing problem of lockdown. The business leaders further said that the SOPs given by the government would be strictly enforced in business centres and shops.
A rush of buyers was seen at Raja Bazaar where people were busy in Eid shopping. However, many upscale shopping areas remained closed.
Small businesses insist on reopening shops
On the other hand, public transport and metro bus service is closed in Rawalpindi, but taxis and rickshaws continue to operate, and there are already government exemptions, including construction industry and related businesses and shops in Rawalpindi.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 10th, 2020.


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A severe rise in the price of some fruits and vegetables has been reported on the wholesale markets in Bulgaria, traders told Profit.bg. The increases apply mostly to imported foods, including lemons, bananas, oranges, kiwis, mandarins, blueberries, broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes and more.
The authorities said that stocking up on food products is unnecessary and warned that action would be taken against speculation.
The Prosecutor's Office announced that it had instructed the Executive Director of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency to monitor violations and take urgent measures in connection with the declared state of emergency regarding the supply of food and food products.
The BFSA leader said that sanctions and coercive administrative measures would be applied in case of violations of the Food Safety Act.


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Consumers all around the United States are forced to save their dollars and count their pennies as high inflation is putting pressure on household budgets. U.S. inflation rose another 8.3% year-over-year in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Food and energy—the more volatile items in the Consumer Price Index—drove rising cost of living. Especially energy, in short supply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and ensuing sanctions, was a major culprit. Costs rose by more than 30% since April 2021 independent of the base effect, as energy prices had already reached pre-pandemic levels one year ago. Food prices also took some significant steps up, as seen in the example of shopping for hamburger ingredients.
Meats showed some of the highest price increases among food items, with the cost of ground beef rising by almost 15% since April 2021 and bacon even becoming 17.7% more pricey over the same time period. As inflation started to soar in 2021—countries were easing Covid-19 lockdowns at the time and consumers were catching up on spending, all while global supply chains still suffered pandemic disruptions—meats had already been one of the products most affected by rising costs.
Since then, price pressures have become broader, taking a hold of more spending categories, including many other foods, alcoholic drinks and rent. While the price of used cars and trucks had already skyrocketed in 2021, new vehicles have now also become 13% more expensive than they had been a year ago.
The price of tomatoes, up just 0.4% over the course of one year, shows that there are still some items that have not experienced rampant inflation. At a 6.2% price increase, fresh vegetables as a whole have seen one of the lowest rates of inflation of any food category.
Considering the high price of gas and cars, inflation is encouraging another sustainable behavior—using public transportation. The category rose by 2.7% over the past year. This is more than before the pandemic, but price hikes had mostly paused during 2020 and into 2021.
An (almost) universal struggle
Meanwhile, other developed nations are also struggling with inflation. According to the OECD, German inflation for the month of April clocked in at 7.4%, while that of the U.K. stood at 6.2% in the latest available month, March. Japan is the exception to the rule as prices only rose by 1.2% in March. The country is very adverse to price increases – they regularly make the news in Japan – and companies have been trying to avoid them even at this time of global turmoil. According to reporting by the Wall Street Journal, stratified labor markets and businesses which are saving instead of investing have had Japanese economists tear their hair out before, but the low-growth approach has proven advantageous at least in the current situation. While Japan has not joined all Western sanctions against Russia, the effect of the war in Ukraine has nevertheless become visible in Japanese consumer prices.
Charted by Statista


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Collegiate School will pay the city to construct the units as part of its plan to build a new school.
The plan would allow developers to build taller in exchange for creating more affordable housing.
The Collegiate School is not legally obligated to provide the 55 units locals expected in the project.
Under a deal with the city, the school will no longer be responsible for building 55 affordable units.
City Planning told a developer to listen to residents before building retail on Joseph Slifka Park.
The owner of the Rivergate apartments plans to build a one-story retail building in Joseph Slifka Park.
The proposal would bring some 1,700 new apartments to the waterfront in Queens.
The developer of 1 Vanderbilt Ave. revealed the design of the planned 1,300-foot tower.
The school agreed to several community benefits, including an $8 million investment in the esplanade.
The new building would bring too many people to an area without amenities to serve them, locals said.
The City Planning Commission approved a proposal to redevelop the former Domino Sugar Factory site.
The proposed 2-acre plaza will have retail and event space, developer Brookfield Properties said.
Lawmakers voiced their concerns over the plan just approved by the City Planning Commission.
The Bloomberg administration's plan to allow bigger skyscrapers now heads to City Council.
The City Planning Commission voted in favor of the developer's special permit application Wednesday.
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