Asia

Asian countries are notoriously skittish about health hazards. The omicron variant is rapidly devastating the few countries reopening in the last quarter of 2021. With the notable exception of Laos, which is once again allowing foreign visitors. Laos reopens after 22 months of closure The good news...

The coming months will see the arrival in South-East Asia of the affordable lifestyle brand Tribe from Accor, as well as the luxurious Vignette Collection from IHG. As part of the global roll-out of these new brands, the Tribe brand will open in Cambodia next February with the opening of the Tribe...

With the Olympic Games looming in Beijing, Shangri-La is already on the starting line. The hotel group has just inaugurated a new address in the Chinese capital, a stone's throw from the site that will host the snowboarding events next February. In addition to this 'Olympic' location, the Shangri-La Shougang...

According to consultant OAG, air capacity rose slightly in the week to 13 December. It rose by 3.8 % week-on-week to 81.4 million seats declared. However, capacity in terms of seats is still 26.21 % lower than in 2019. OAG notes that the Omicron variant does not...

Perhaps the management of Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific will find the appearance of the Omicron variant in the Covid pandemic a positive development. The appearance of this variant was immediately followed by the announcement of a reduction in the carrier's scheduled flights. The South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's leading English-language daily,...

As the new Vaccinated Traveller Route (VTL) begins between Singapore and Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur only) on 29 November, Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have announced the reactivation of their code-share agreements between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. This agreement also covers 15 domestic points in Malaysia, 7 of which are...

Regulations, regulations and more regulations. Asian governments are fond of them, with the idea of reopening their countries to the outside world. And that's what's happening in South-East Asia. Singapore was the first country to decide to...

High-speed trains have become a hallmark of a country's modernity. France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden and, in Asia, Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan are all proving the point. India is also set to join the club in the near future. For the time being, South-East Asia is lagging behind, despite the growing number of projects and the symbolic line to...

It took the Thai government more than a year and a half to finally open up Thailand to foreign visitors. An opening that is taking place in stages. It actually began last July. On that date, foreign travellers were once again authorised to stay on the island of Phuket without quarantine. The constraints...

It's a timid first step. But a first step nonetheless. With the start of the IATA winter schedules on October 31, Thai Airways International is resuming its international flights from Bangkok. A fleet of 21 long-haul aircraft has been reactivated out of the 38 officially registered. 7 other aircraft...

Singapore Airlines has wasted no time in announcing the inclusion of four additional European countries in its "Vaccinated Travel Lane" (VTL). From 20 October, the carrier will convert four weekly frequencies of its daily flight into "VTL flights" on departure from Paris CDG. The four flights will be operated...

India, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Over the last few weeks, there has been an increasing number of announcements about the reopening of borders in Asian countries. This is good news for travellers, as Asia has until now been the continent most reluctant to welcome international tourists. It was primarily a response to a very Asian psychosis...

In March 2020, the Thai government decided to completely close the Kingdom's borders in order to protect itself against the possible spread of the Covid virus. By closing the borders, the government was knowingly taking the risk of depriving the Kingdom of its biggest resource: tourism. In 2019, the tourism sector...

This is confirmed almost daily. Air travel in Europe is picking up with the acceleration of vaccination. Travellers in possession of the precious sesame that is a vaccination are increasingly authorised to travel. This is good news for Finnair, whose traffic in Helsinki is largely made up of...

It operates just over 20% of its pre-2019 flight volume to yet 70% of its destination network... This is Philippine Airlines, which continues to suffer from the almost total closure of the Philippines' borders since the covid pandemic in 2020. And last weekend, it submitted an application...

According to consultant HVS, which published its forecasts for the Asia-Pacific hotel industry in the second quarter, the situation for hotels in the region remains fragile. More than anywhere else in the world, the continent has seen fit to hermetically seal its borders. This has killed off tourism, on which many countries depend. The countries...

Every year, the end of July marks the peak of aviation activity around the world. It's a time when Europe enjoys its holidays, as does part of the United States. In 2019, however, the week of 19 July resulted in a total of 119 million seats, according to OAG. This...

How has Finnair got through 2020? Javier Roig - Despite the total closure of the borders, Finnair has ensured continuity of service with the rest of Europe. We have received financial support from the government and, in exchange, we have never stopped serving Finland. It's true that frequencies have been reduced, since we...

Korean Air's takeover of its competitor Asiana Airlines and the subsequent merger of the two airlines continue to be questioned by the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). The review of Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana Airlines has just been extended until October. In January, Korean Air announced its acquisition...

After several months of depressed air travel in Europe, the acceleration of vaccination against Covid-19 on the European continent is beginning to bear fruit. Better immunity coverage and the travel protocols introduced by the European Union have eased restrictions. This is benefiting the business of...