Singapore

After a month of almost total reopening to visitors, Thailand decided in just 24 hours to reintroduce a quarantine for travellers in the face of fears of the Omicron variant. The government announced that entry conditions could be reviewed on 4 January. While the Kingdom seems to have the covid pandemic well under control, the appearance of the...

Like other hotel groups, Accor has made no secret of its desire to expand its residential accommodation offering. To this end, the French group is preparing to move into the territory of two major players in the long-stay hotel sector, Ascott and Frasers Hospitality, by setting up in Singapore. By the end of the year, Accor will have...

In the early days of October, the Mövenpick brand set up shop close to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, on the Asian side of Istanbul. Situated just one kilometre from the hub, the establishment is a popular stopping-off point for business travellers, and is also close to Technopark Istanbul, a high-tech campus focusing on the defence industry, as well as...

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...

Singapore intends to relax the restrictions that prevent both its citizens and visitors from travelling to and from the city-state. Such a decision would effectively mean allowing travel without quarantine in September. This is the first time that the government has officially announced a timetable for reopening the borders. These last...

A game of musical chairs between hotel groups is brewing in Singapore. As Hilton's former flagship in the City-State prepares to come under the Voco banner in January 2022, the American brand has already found another location just a stone's throw from the old one, at number 333 - and no longer...

There is now talk within the Singapore government of reopening the country to the rest of the world. Even if it will be cautious. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has just announced that it would be possible to allow both foreigners and Singaporeans to travel to and from a handful of countries. Those whose vaccination...

Until now, the Hilton Singapore has been a popular venue for business meetings and social events. It will remain under this name until January 2022. But from that date onwards, travellers will find another sign affixed to this 423-room hotel on the famous Orchard Road. The British group...

The rapid spread of the Indian variant of Covid-19 in South-East Asia is turning into a third wave of the pandemic. In one week, according to official figures, the number of active cases has risen by 31% in Malaysia, and the number of deaths by 51%. In Singapore, however, the pandemic remains under control. The...

Efficiency and mastery of destiny: in Singapore, we are proud - very proud, in fact - of our ability to anticipate, plan, develop and, above all, succeed. The Covid-19 pandemic will certainly have swept away some of the certainties of the City-State, whose economy relies on trade with the rest of the planet. In 2020, GDP contracted by 5.8...

What did you expect from the hybrid event organised by PCMA in Singapore earlier this year? Stéphane Leleu - The main objective was to observe how an international hybrid event was set up, taking into account the health constraints in force. The travel itinerary from Paris to arrival at the hotel, the day-to-day management of travel and interaction between delegates. In...

How did an events institution like Suntec cope with the crisis? Arun Madhok - We had a full schedule for 2020, all our spaces were practically sold out, and we were hosting a major motor show in January... We even celebrated Chinese New Year, and wished ourselves all the best for the coming months......

The future of travel is on the move. And while we know that the road ahead will be a long one, Singapore is already showing the way. Buoyed by the success of its sanitary measures, the Asian hub intends to take in its wake all the players likely to shape the travel of tomorrow, and with it the organisation of MICE events...

While predictions are multiplying as to when international business travellers will be able to resume, some market players are already hard at work putting concrete options in place, and in fact speeding up the recovery timetable. This is the case in Singapore, which has been working hard since the beginning of the crisis to explore...

Gulf Air is to resume flights between Bahrain and Singapore after a 14-year hiatus. Flights will begin in April. This return will be rather modest, with the carrier starting with a single frequency per week using a 282-seat Boeing 787-9. Two flight classes will be offered on board. Singapore joins Bangkok and Manila...

What does organising the Convening Leaders conference mean for Singapore? Edward Koh - The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Marina Bay Sands have partnered with PCMA to set up a global distribution centre for Convening Leaders, to host speakers, expert panels and offer face-to-face experiences....

To bring the PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) "Convening Leaders" event out of its American backyard - an historic first in six decades - it needed a context as unprecedented as the health crisis. Above all, it needed to identify a destination that would embody the near future of MICE, while offering guarantees...

How would you sum up 2020 for Singapore Airlines? Franklin Auber - Inevitably, 2020 has had such an impact that comparisons with 2019 are not very meaningful... From the point of view of the IATA year 2020-21, which we end in March, over the first six months, we are...

The high-speed rail link between Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Singapore will remain on the drawing board. It has not been a sea snake, but a land snake for Malaysia and Singapore. The ambitious project for a high-speed train that would cover the 350 km between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in an hour and a half...

In Asia, Singapore and Thailand are among the countries most in need of reopening their borders. For completely different reasons. Singapore is the commercial and financial hub of the whole of South-East Asia. The country therefore needs to re-anchor itself to international movements. The Thai economy, on the other hand, is heavily dependent...