| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2022-12-09 | Hong Kong shorten mandatory quarantine for Covid patients to 5 days Read More The government announced yesterday starting from December 9, the isolation period for infected Covid-19 patients and their close contacts will be reduced to five days from seven, if they obtain negative rapid antigen test (RAT) results on both Day 4 and Day 5 of isolation. This will apply to all persons no matter they have been vaccinated or not. |
| 2022-12-09 | Hong Kong shorten testing period for inbound travelers to 5 days Read More All inbound persons arriving at Hong Kong on or after December 2, are only required to undergo RATs daily until Day 5 after their arrival at Hong Kong. The existing arrangements of "test-and-go" upon arrival at the airport and nucleic acid test on Day 2 after arrival at Hong Kong remain unchanged. |
| 2022-12-08 | Mainland China further easing of Covid measures Read More Mainland authorities announced on December 7, further easing Covid-19 restrictions, which include the lockdown on high-risk areas will be scaled down and should be unblocked in a timely manner if no new infections for 5 consecutive days. The scope and frequency of PCR testing to be further reduced. Covid patients with mild or no symptoms can be isolated at home. And people travelling across provinces do not need to provide a 48-hour test result and test upon arrival. |
| 2022-12-07 | Chinese consumers to put off Outbound Travel Read More Conducted by an international consultancy firm, the October survey on 4000 consumers in China and found over half of respondents will put off traveling abroad for several months to even more than a year even if borders reopened the next day. |
| 2022-12-06 | Hong Kong Wedding – Changes of Preferences Read More Hong Kong’s newly-wed will have smaller banquet, which on average down to 16 tables this year from 20 tables in 2018. More couples prefer outdoor signing ceremony so hotels offer poolside or garden venue, and some holding cocktail instead of banquet. |
| 2022-12-05 | Hong Kong Wedding – Popular Wedding Photo Destinations Read More Japan and South Korea, which already reopened border, top choice on destination for wedding photo to be followed by Europe. Pre-pandemic, mainland China and Taiwan were among the top choices too. |
| 2022-12-02 | Hong Kong Wedding – Honeymoon expense up by double digits Read More On average, each surveyed coupon will spend on honeymoon some HK$46000, up 11%; and on banquet nearly HK$150,000, up 3%, which remain the largest spending item. |
| 2022-12-01 | Hong Kong Wedding – resume taking Photo overseas Read More On average, each surveyed coupon will spend over HK$25000 on wedding photography, up a whopping 28%! Probably, Hong Kong citizens resume going abroad to take wedding photo. |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2022-11-30 | Hong Kong Wedding – Higher Spending for Couples Read More A wedding portal in Hong Kong, which between Sep and Nov this year interviewed 1226 persons who either will or planning to get married from now to 2024, found their spending on wedding average HK$384,000, up 9% over last year. |
| 2022-11-30 | Hong Kong Wedding – More get Married than Last Year Read More Around 29000 couples will marry in Hong Kong in 2022, which up 9% over last year but far lower than the some 40000 a year in pre-pandemic year. |
| 2022-11-29 | Goldman Sachs China to reopen in first half of next year Read More From Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs in a note published late on Nov 27 forecasts a 30 percent probability of China reopening before the second quarter of 2023, and sees chance of a second-quarter exit around 60 percent. |
| 2022-11-28 | India drawing more foreign visitors Read More India in the first 8 months of 2022 drew around 3.3 million foreign tourists, which 50% below pre-pandemic but an increase of 640,000 over same period in 2021. |
| 2022-11-25 | Survey found Hong Kong travel agents cut staff Read More The Travel Industry Council, in a survey which received replies from 350 member travel agents, found 76% have now no more than 5 staff and majority did lay-off staff to save cost during the pandemic years. |
| 2022-11-24 | New Hong Kong Travel Agents smaller in Scale Read More During the pandemic years, some 300 travel agents closed down while over 100 new travel agents opened in Hong Kong. Overall, the city has over 1700 licensed travel agents of which majority are smaller in scale, according to TAR - the Hong Kong Travel Agents Registry. |
| 2022-11-23 | Big Jump of Hong Kong Outbound to Japan Read More In Oct when Japan reopened border to FIT over 36000 Hong Kong outbound visited Japan, up 25000 times over same month last year, and rank then its third largest market! |
| 2022-11-22 | Foreign travelers spent more in Japan before wider border reopening Read More Before it widened border reopening in Oct, spending on goods and services by non-residents during visits rose 51% in Sept to USD455 million compared to same period last year. |
| 2022-11-21 | Inbound to Japan doubled in Oct Read More In Oct Japan opened border to inbound FIT and drawn in that month some 498,600 foreign visitors, which more than doubled inbound in the month before. |
| 2022-11-18 | China stop suspension mechanism for inter-provincial travel Read More China’s media, quoting travel trade’s interpretation of the announcement on Nov 15 by the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, report it mean suspension mechanism of inter-provincial tourism will be stopped, so promotion and selling of travel products to high risk areas can from now on be continued. |
| 2022-11-17 | Cathay Pacific to increase flights Read More Cathay Pacific increasing its passenger carrying capacity. By the end of Sep it stood at 16% pre-pandemic level, and will be raised to one-third by the end of this year and to 70% by the end of 2023. |
| 2022-11-16 | Survey on Economists when Mainland China will reopen Read More Bloomberg, which reported following from Beijing in Nov, surveyed 23 economists, asking them when they expect Mainland China to begin reopening. Almost half chose the second quarter of 2023; another 7 the third quarter and 2 until 2024. |
| 2022-11-15 | China easing Covid-19 Quarantine for Inbound Read More On Nov 11, China National Health Commission issued a statement which: (a) stop flight suspension mechanism; (b) require only 1 PCR test within 48 hours before departure; (c) adopt “5 + 3” instead of “7 + 3”, which cut mandatory hotel quarantine for all inbound travelers to 5 days then follow by 3 days confining home stay; and (d) inbound traveler not subject to further mandatory quarantine at final destination inside China after completion at landing port.
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| 2022-11-14 | Thailand to draw 10 million foreign tourists in 2022 Read More Around 7.56 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in the first 10 months of 2022, which expected attract at least 1.5 million each of the following months of Nov and Dec. |
| 2022-11-11 | China Outbound to South Korea this year Read More In the first 8 months this year, 1.75 million foreign travelers visited South Korea, and among them 180,688 from China which thus ranked the second largest market. |
| 2022-11-10 | Chinese consumers spent more on luxury products Read More Quoting China General Chamber of Commerce, media reported Chinese consumers spent globally US$146.5 billion on luxury products in 2021, up 18% over 2020, and accounted for 46% of the world’s luxury product market. |
| 2022-11-09 | Hong Kong’s inbound tour group exempted Amber health code restrictions Read More On Nov 7, Hong Kong government announced inbound tour groups accompanied by licensed travel agents with pre-registered itinerary even holding Amber health code, are now permitted to enter theme parks and museums etc. and dine in partitioned areas in designated restaurants. |
| 2022-11-08 | Hong Kong waive restriction on some inbound travelers Read More In recent Ruby 7, some foreign tourists with amber code were first refused entry but later had the health code changed to blue then admitted. Also, 27 foreign participants to the Hong Kong Legal Week were instead given temporary blue code thus waived them amber health code restrictions. |
| 2022-11-07 | Mainland Tourists to visit Macau Read More From Nov 1, mainland tourists can apply online permit to visit Macau. Qunar, a Chinese travel portal reported online searches in Oct for flight to Macau and for hotels there respectively grew 173% and 135% over the month before. |
| 2022-11-04 | Taiwan open border to Hong Kong and Macau Tourists Read More From Nov 7, sightseeing tour groups from Hong Kong and Macau can enter Taiwan and stay maximum for 15 days. Each such group shall consist of 5 to 40 members. |
| 2022-11-03 | Flights between mainland and Hong Kong in current Season Read More In the 2022/23 Winter & Spring Season from Oct 30 to Mar 25, 2023, various airlines will arrange 1224 weekly flights between 34 destinations in the Mainland and Hong Kong. |
| 2022-11-03 | Flights between mainland and Macau in current Season Read More In the 2022/23 Winter & Spring Season, various airlines will arrange 512 weekly flights between 26 destinations in the Mainland and Macau. |
| 2022-11-02 | Chinese airlines flied more international flights in Sep Read More Media reported various Chinese airlines on average flied daily in Sep was 35 international flights, up 24.5% over Aug, which had a total capacity of 10147 seats up 26.5% over the month before. |
| 2022-11-01 | Japan resumes visa-free FIT boost Hong Kong outbound Read More From Oct 11, Japan resumed visa-free entry for individual travelers (FIT) which immediately followed by more outbound in Hong Kong. Media reported on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the following two weeks Hong Kong outbound exceeded 10,000 in each day. In September, Hong Kong residents made over 163,000 departures. |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2022-10-31 | Hong Kong 「0 + 3」 Policy boost Outbound by 50% Read More Media reported numbers of Hong Kong residents departing from the airport 30 days before and after Sep 26 were respectively over 120,000 and 180,000, which means an increase of 50%! |
| 2022-10-28 | Airlines capacity in Hong Kong to rise to 30% pre-pandemic level by year end Read More Quoting the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, media reported on Oct 27 that at present passenger carrying capacity of all airlines in Hong Kong only reach 15% of pre-pandemic level, which expected to rise to around 30% by the end of this year. |
| 2022-10-27 | Lowering quarantine requirement immediately boost Hong Kong outbound Read More Hong Kong implemented the ‘3 + 4’ policy in mid-Aug then the ‘0 + 3’ policy in end Sep, which immediately boosted outbound. Hong Kong residents made 163051 departures in Sep which grew 82% over same month last year and 45.6% over June in the same year. |
| 2022-10-26 | China’s Camping economy enjoy high double digits Growth Read More Quoting a consultancy research, media reported China’s camping economy in 2021 had a core market value of RMB74.75 billion with an annual growth of 62.5%; which will grow to RMB248.32 billion by 2025. |
| 2022-10-25 | China’s campers by Age Read More C-trip bookings for long camping holiday during the National Day Holiday came mainly from Shanghai, Guangdong, Beijing and Zhejiang; and among the travelers, over 60% were between 30 to 39 years old, and 15% between 20 and 30. |
| 2022-10-24 | Camping highly popular in China’s National Day Holiday Read More From travel portal C-trip, bookings for camping holiday during the 7 days long National Day Golden Week increased by over 10 times over last year, and on average each camper spent RMB650 which up around 30% over the Mid-Autumn Festival this year.
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| 2022-10-21 | Passenger traffic of Hong Kong Airport more than doubled this year Read More Passenger traffic of Hong Kong Airport in the first 9 months of 2022 up by 139.5% comparing to same period in 2021. |
| 2022-10-20 | International arrivals growing since Japan reinstate visa free entry Read More On Oct 11 Japan again offer visa free travel to tourists, media reported on Oct 18 that Tokyo’s Narita Airport saw international arrivals grew about 10% to around 30% of pre-pandemic levels. |
| 2022-10-19 | Cathay to expand flights in coming months Read More In mid-Oct Cathay announced adding 700 and 1200 flights respectively in coming Nov and Dec, which mean an increase of over 0.5 million seats. The airline in Sep carried 265,8456 passengers, which an increase of 102% over same month in 2021. |
| 2022-10-18 | Hong Kong Airport handled more passengers in September Read More Hong Kong International Airport saw passenger traffic volume in September this year grew to 525,000 or 10% higher than in August, which up 133% compared to 2021. |
| 2022-10-17 | Public survey found strong pent up travel demand in Hong Kong Read More A survey held from Sep 26 to Oct 3 (ie., after ‘0 + 3’policy became effective) phone interviewed 1007 Hong Kong citizens aged 18 or above found 30% of respondents plan to take outbound holiday in the remaining months of 2022. |
| 2022-10-14 | Hong Kong Agent predict Outbound back to 50% pre-pandemic level end of this Year Read More After implementing ‘0 + 3’policy, WWPKG, a Hong Kong travel agent reported around Oct 11 receiving more enquiries each day, October tour groups already full, limited vacancies still available for November groups, and project business by the end of this year will recover to around 50% pre-pandemic level. |
| 2022-10-14 | Travel services back to stable may take half to one year Read More Travel businesses been frozen for over two years and various suppliers like airlines, travel agents and hotels now short of staff, WWPKG a Hong Kong travel agent estimated it takes half to one year supply of services to stablise. |
| 2022-10-13 | Airline to increase flights between Hong Kong and Japan Read More Japan just open to FIT and attract many travelers from Hong Kong. On Oct 12, media reported Airline HK Express will increase by the end of this month 50 flights per week to and from Japan, which will be further be increased to 120 flights in December.
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| 2022-10-12 | Lower domestic travel revenue in China’s National Day Holiday Read More China’s domestic tourism revenue in National Day Holiday this year, which went down 26.2% on the year to RMB287.2 billion, were around 44.2% of the level in the pre-pandemic 2019. |
| 2022-10-11 | Fewer domestic travelers in China’s National Day Holiday Read More In the week long National Day Holiday China recorded 422 million domestic tourist trips, which down 18.2% comparing to last year and about 60.7% of the figure in 2019. |
| 2022-10-10 | Foreign Airlines resume flights to Hong Kong Read More As a result of the new “0 + 3” policy, the media reported ANA will fly 4 times a week to Tokyo Haneda from Oct. United Airlines plan to resume flying to Hong Kong from San Francisco in 2023 as early as January, and British Airways from coming December. |
| 2022-10-07 | Hong Kong 's new ”0 +3” quarantine policy Impacts I Read More From Sep 26, no mandatory quarantine for all international arrivals, which immediately boost outbound. The city’s daily average departures grew from 7523 between Sep 1 to 25 to 8616 between Sep 26 and Oct 4, up 14.5%! |
| 2022-10-07 | Hong Kong 's new ”0 + 3” quarantine policy Impacts II Read More The city on Sep 30 and Oct 1, which were respectively 11,114 and 10,599, both exceeded 10000! Also, 77.6% of the departures between Sep 26 and Oct 4 were from the airport, and these travelers mainly Hong Kong residents. |
| 2022-10-06 | ITE survey: 2/3 respondents took local travel in past 6 months Read More Over 65% of ITE public visitors traveled domestically in the past six months, which include staycation at 38%; local tours at 24%; cultural and in-depth tour at 13% and Glamping at 4%! |
| 2022-10-06 | ITE survey: 3/4 respondents only take destinations with no quarantine Read More Over three quarters of ITE survey’s respondents will only consider destinations requiring no quarantine, which mean 24% may, and of whom, 4% definitely will not exclude destinations with mandatory quarantine while 19% uncertain! |
| 2022-10-05 | ITE Hong Kong survey found over half respondents to spend more on travel Read More The ITE2022 public visitor survey, which collected online 3344 replies in August, found 55% respondents will increase travel budget for the coming year, 35% uncertain and 10% will not. |
| 2022-10-05 | ITE Hong Kong survey nearly half respondents to travel within 6 months Read More The ITE2022 public visitor survey, which collected online 3344 replies in August, found 7% respondents will travel abroad within 1 month, 21% within 3 months and 44% within 6 months. |
| 2022-10-03 | Macau fly to Yiwu in Eastern China Read More Flights between Macau and the Yiwu city in Eastern China resumed and passengers need only provide negative PCR test taken 48 hours within departure and no quarantine required. |
| 2022-10-03 | Hong Kong to relax Covid-19 Restrictions Read More On Sep 30, Hong Kong government announced to relax some social distancing from Oct 6, the suspension mechanism for cruise-to-nowhere itineraries will be lifted, and banquet capacity will be increased from 120 to 240. |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2022-09-30 | Mainland tour groups to Macao to resume from November Read More On Sep 24, Macau government announced the central government has agreed to resume mainland tour groups to Macao, which are expected to resume in coming November. |
| 2022-09-29 | Hong Kong new「0 + 3」policy boost outbound 3 Read More After the‘0 + 3’ policy becoming effective, Hong Kong outbound for the next few months will grow by as much as 50% according to projection by the city's Travel Industry Council. |
| 2022-09-28 | Hong Kong new「0 + 3」policy boost outbound 1 Read More After Hong Kong government announced cutting completely mandatory hotel quarantine for international arrivals, travel agent EGL reported booking of its tour groups rose from some 30 to above 100 a day. |
| 2022-09-28 | Hong Kong new「0 + 3」policy boost outbound 2 Read More After Hong Kong government announced cut completely mandatory hotel quarantine for international arrivals, travel agent WWPKG predict number of departing tour groups per month will rise from 30 in October to around 50 to 70 in November and December. |
| 2022-09-27 | Hong Kong new「0 + 3」policy saw big jump in outbound booking
Read More From media, Trip.com, an online travel agent, reported its Hong Kong website, comparing to Sep 17 and 18, saw nearly 400% increase in outbound flight booking on Sep 24 and 25, which right after the city announced cutting completely mandatory hotel quarantine for international arrivals. |
| 2022-09-26 | Hong Kong waives hotel quarantine for arrivals Read More Effective from 6am on September 26, Hong Kong will scrap the current hotel quarantine for all international arrivals and replaced it by the policy of “0 + 3”, which mean travelers after taking PCR test at airport can take public transport to home or hotel, and if PCR test at airport is negative then begin self-monitor for three days, during which can go to work but not to bar nor restaurant. |
| 2022-09-23 | 75% of Imported Covid-19 cases found within first 3 days upon arrival Read More Quoting the government’s Centre of Health Protection, media reported on Sep 20 that 40% imported cases tested positive upon arrival, some 35% identified in the 3 days of hotel quarantine, and 20% in the remaining 4 to 7 days. |
| 2022-09-22 | Imported Covid-19 cases little impact in Hong Kon Read More Media reported on Sep 20 at present imported cases stabilize around 150 cases per day and account for 1.5 to 2% of Hong Kong's daily new cases. |
| 2022-09-21 | Hong Kong public survey on Quarantine in Hong Kong before going to the Mainland Read More On having travelers quarantine in Hong Kong before going over to Mainland China instead of being quarantine there, 42% respondents regard it as acceptable, 29% not acceptable and another 29% no comment, from the survey above |
| 2022-09-20 | Hong Kong public survey on mandatory hotel quarantine Read More A survey by phone interviewed 1246 Hong Kong citizens aged 18 or above in early September found 47% respondents support completely abolishing mandatory hotel quarantine, 23% no comment, and 31% against. |
| 2022-09-19 | Chinese travelers made late booking (2) Read More In this summer, Chinese travelers who booked air ticket five days before departure dropped 17% while those who booked ticket on day of departure rose by 1%, comparing to 2019. |
| 2022-09-16 | Chinese travelers made late booking (1) Read More In a recent report on 2022 Summer Vacations, China Tourism Research Institute found travelers make late decision on booking travel products. In this summer, those who booked air ticket one to five days before departure constitute the largest group, respectively increased by 9% over 2021 and 16% over 2019. |
| 2022-09-15 | Chinese domestic travelers traveled closer to home this year Read More This year, travel radius by Chinese domestic travelers in official holidays reached its height of 110.3 km in New Year, dropped to 95 km in the Ching Ming Festival, then climbed back to 107.9 km in the Dragon Boat Festival, which all far lower than the travel radius of 270km in 2019, from China Tourism Research institute. |
| 2022-09-14 | Lower revenues from China’s Domestic Travel in Mid-Autumn Festival Read More China Ministry of Culture & Tourism estimated the country’s domestic travel during the Mid-Autumn Festival generated revenue totaling RMB28.,68 billion, down 22.8% and about 60.6% comparing to same period in 2019. |
| 2022-09-13 | China's Domestic Travelers in Mid-Autumn Festival Read More China's Ministry of Culture & Tourism estimated the country’s domestic travelers during the Mid-Autumn Festival totaled 73.49 million, down 16.7% and about 72.6% comparing to same period in 2019. |
| 2022-09-09 | Fewer international flight options available in China Read More Quoting flight information provider VariFlight, media reported China now has around 100 international flights per day which was over 2600 before the year 2020. |
| 2022-09-08 | Many enquiries to visit Japan in recent days in Hong Kong Read More Effective from September 7, Japan will relax restrictions on incoming travelers like stop requiring them to engage local guide. Some Hong Kong travel agents reported receiving 1000 enquiries in the past few days. |
| 2022-09-07 | Fewer domestic travelers in China this year Read More China's domestic travelers in the first half of 2022 totaled 1.455 billion, down 22.2% over the year before, according to data from China’s Ministry of Culture & Tourism. |
| 2022-09-06 | Domestic travelers in China spent less this year Read More China's domestic travelers spent RMB1.17 trillion in the first half of 2022, down 28.2% over the year before, according to data from China’s Ministry of Culture & Tourism. |
| 2022-09-05 | More Chinese will take long haul travel in coming Mid-Autumn Festival Read More Local, neighboring cities and long haul travel during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, as of Aug 30, account respectively for 23%, 24% and 53% of booking this year, and long haul grew 30% comparing to the Dragon Boat Festival, from C-trip, a major travel portal in China. |
| 2022-09-02 | Singapore waives mandatory quarantine for non-fully vaccinated arrivals Read More From Aug 29, arrivals to Singapore who not fully vaccinated can enter without the mandatory 7 days quarantine, but they still need to present negative Covid-19 test taken within 2 days before departure. |
| 2022-09-01 | Hong Kong shorten mandatory hotel quarantine boost outbound group to Japan Read More EGL, a major travel agent in Hong Kong reported number of tour groups to Japan rose from 2 in June to over 10 in August when the city cut mandatory hotel quarantine for incoming travelers from 7 to 3 days. Outbound groups expect to continue rising to 20 in each month of Sept and October. |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2022-08-31 | Thai Hospital operator reported foreign patients back to 90% pre-pandemic Read More Thailand's largest private operator with 53 hospitals reported foreign patients taking treatment, who come mainly from the Middle East, Australia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, reached about 90% of the pre-pandemic level. |
| 2022-08-30 | China opens door to APEC cardholders Read More From Aug 24, foreign holders of APEC business traveler card can enter China. |
| 2022-08-30 | Macau opens door to foreigners resident in mainland China Read More From Aug 22, foreigners who live in mainland China and met certain other conditions can enter Macau from the mainland. |
| 2022-08-29 | Cathay reported to increase flight to Singapore by year-end Read More Media report Cathay will, irrespective of any relaxation of Hong Kong’s current mandatory 3 4 hotel quarantine, by the end of this year increase flight frequency between the city and Singapore to one flight a day from the current three times a week. |
| 2022-08-26 | Global travel trade showed strong growth early this year Read More According to UNWTO, international arrivals in the first 5 months of 2022 totaled nearly 250 million, which compare favorably to the 77 million in same period of 2021 and about 46% of that in 2019. |
| 2022-08-25 | Hong Kong to allow incoming travelers with yellow health code to attend B2B events Read More From August 25, Hong Kong will allow incoming travelers with yellow health code to attend B2B exhibition or conference. Travelers arriving the city now require 3 days mandatory hotel stay and 4 days with yellow health code which mean they can go to work but not to say enter exhibition etc. |
| 2022-08-24 | Japan to waive pre-departure test Read More On Aug 24 Japan say will from Sept 7 waive pre-departure Covid-19 tests for vaccinated travelers entering the country, but no decision yet on changing the current daily cap on inbound travelers of 20000. |
| 2022-08-22 | South Korea expect more tourists from Hong Kong Read More Arrivals from Hong Kong to South Korea expected to rise to 2000 in August and totaled some 1200 in July, when the country reopen borders. |
| 2022-08-17 | ITE 2O22 OPENS ON AUG 18 (THU) Read More ITE Hong Kong, the city's only travel fair, will this year be held from August 18 to 21 in Halls 3 D & E of Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. Hong Kong Chief Executive, Mr. John KC LEE, sent his Message to welcome all participants of ITE this year! Mr YEUNG Yun-hung, Kevin, GBS, JP, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the HKSAR Government, is the Guest of Honor to officiate the Opening Ceremony which will be held on Aug 18 at 11.00 AM at the Grand Stage of ITE.
A Press Preview will be held on Aug 17 at 15.00 at Halls 3D & E of HKCEC.
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| 2022-08-16 | Thailand expects even more foreign tourists this year Read More Earlier this month, Thailand revised expectation and projected this year the country will attract 10 million international tourists, up from the projection of 6.1 million in April. |
| 2022-08-15 | Thailand welcome more Hong Kong travelers Read More Number of Hong Kong citizens visiting Thailand, which abolish quarantine for incoming travelers, rose from 310 in January to 5912 in July this year, with majority traveling in FIT, according to TAT Hong Kong. |
| 2022-08-12 | Few travel agents now in Hong Kong Read More Hong Kong in 2019 had 1780 travel agents, and around 300 of them in effect closed door during the pandemic years. However, there been over 100 new travel agents set up in the same period and the city now has 1630 travel agents. |
| 2022-08-11 | More outbound tour groups from Hong Kong predicted Read More From Aug 12, Hong Kong cut short mandatory hotel quarantine to 3 days. The number of outbound tour groups will thus increase by 20 to 30% from the level of over 200 tour groups registered in the past two months, according to prediction by the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong. |
| 2022-08-10 | Taiwan received few inbound travelers Read More Local media reported Taiwan in 2021 received a total of some 144,800 inbound travelers, down respectively by 89.8% and nearly 99% comparing to figures in 2020 and 2019. |
| 2022-08-09 | Hong Kong latest moves to relax travel Restrictions Read More Effective on August 12 the coming Friday, Hong Kong will cut hotel quarantine for arrivals to three days, plus four days of health monitoring during which arrivals can leave home but forbid to enter high risk premises like restaurants etc. |
| 2022-08-08 | China announced new Flight Suspension Mechanism Read More On August 7, Civil Aviation Administration of China announced new flight suspension mechanism, which will become effective on August 8. Arriving international flight with 4% or more passenger tested positive will be suspended for one week, and flight with 8% suspended for two weeks. |
| 2022-08-05 | Arrivals to Thailand in July exceed 1 million Read More Thailand received 1.07 million foreign visitors in July, up almost 25% the number in June, and is the first month since early 2020 to reach 1 million. |
| 2022-08-05 | Arrivals to Thailand in July exceed 1 million Read More Thailand received 1.07 million foreign visitors in July, up almost 25% the number in June, and is the first month since early 2020 to reach 1 million. |
| 2022-08-04 | More Foreigners entered Japan Read More Quoting the Japan Tourism Agency, media reported on July 20 that the country received so far in the month of July over 14000 entry applications from foreign tourists; while according to JNTO, some 120400 inbound travelers entered Japan in June. |
| 2022-08-03 | UNWTO projects global tourism recovery this year Read More UNWTO project globally international travelers in the whole year of 2022 will recover to between 55% and 70% of the level in the pre-pandemic 2019, which mean increase between 90% and 140% of figures in 2021. |
| 2022-08-02 | Hong Kong to cut short mandatory hotel quarantine Read More In a TV interview on July 30, Hong Kong Health Secretary revealed the city considering cutting down mandatory hotel quarantine for overseas arrivals from the present 7 days to 5 plus a two day home isolation period during which visit to high risk venues such as restaurant banned. |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2022-07-29 | Thailand inbound market show strong rebound Read More In the period from Jan 1 to July 6 this year, Thailand welcomed a total of around 2 million incoming tourists. With further relaxation on July 1, daily arrivals rose from 25000 to 30000 in June to around 40000 in July. |
| 2022-07-28 | Singapore have more incoming travelers this year Read More In the first half of 2022, Singapore welcomed 1.5 million incoming travelers, up 12 times over same period last year. The city state project will receive in this year some 4 to 6 million incoming travelers. |
| 2022-07-26 | Hong Kong Government consider cut short hotel quarantine to 5 days Read More Media reported on July 25 Hong Kong government is considering to cut hotel quarantine for arrivals from 7 to 5 or 4 days who in the next two or three days will be issued a yellow health codes which bar them from entering high risk areas like restaurant where mask will be removed. Also, the government is expected to make a decision within the next two weeks. |
| 2022-07-25 | Cathay to bring back planes to Hong Kong as the city relax restrictions Read More As Hong Kong now relaxing flight suspension and border restrictions Cathay, which been parking around 70% of its fleet in Australia during the pandemic, will fly these planes to Hong Kong for maintenances and tests to ensure safe operations. |
| 2022-07-22 | Cathay increasing passenger carrying capacity Read More Cathay’s passenger carrying capacity in June rose to 1.7 time that in May but still only around 11% of that in pre-pandemic years. The company expect its passenger carrying capacity will by the end of this year rise to around 25% in pre-pandemic year. |
| 2022-07-21 | CITM, China International Travel Mart, will open on July 22 Read More CITM, China International Travel Mart, which is organized by China Ministry of Culture & Tourism, Civil Aviation Administration of China and Yunnan Provincial Government, will this year be held from July 22 to 24 in Kunming City of Yunnan Province. A total of 31 provinces of China will exhibit in CITM 2022 which also expects, including both online and onsite, some 70 participating and exhibiting overseas countries and regions. |
| 2022-07-20 | China to further increase international passenger flights Read More Quoting Chinese Premier’s comment yesterday in the World Economic Forum, international media reported on July 20 that China will orderly advance cross-border travel for labor services, further increase international passenger fights and steadily improve its visa and Covid-testing policies. |
| 2022-07-19 | Hainan Airlines resume international flights to Beijing Read More Hainan will resume in July international flights between Beijing and Belgrade via Dalian; Beijing and Moscow via Xian, and Beijing and Tokyo. |
| 2022-07-19 | ANA to resume flight to Beijing Read More For the first time for over 2 years, ANA will from July 11 resume flight between Beijing and Narita Airport. |
| 2022-07-18 | Air China resuming International Flights Read More China media reported on July 8 Air China will resume flight between Stockholm and Xian, Milan and Hohhot, Madrid and Tianjin, Warsaw and Shenyang, Manila and Qingdao, Dubai and Zhengzhou, Phnom Penh and Zhengzhou etc. |
| 2022-07-15 | Hong Kong Examining test data for decision to shorten Hotel Quarantine Read More On further shortening the mandatory 7 days hotel quarantine by overseas arrivals say to 5 days hotel quarantine plus two days of home isolation or more, Hong Kong Health Secretary LO said he could make such decision only after examining the latest data on the positive rate in Covid-19 tests submitted on the third day of hotel quarantine, according to media report on July 13. |
| 2022-07-13 | Hong Kong considering changes partially hotel quarantine Read More Media reported on July 12 Hong Kong new Health Secretary LO is mulling to change part of the 7-day hotel quarantine to home isolation. |
| 2022-07-12 | Taiwan's inbound saw free fall Read More Taiwan's outbound dropped to 360,000 in 2021 from 17.10 million in 2019; while inbound fell to 145000 last year from 11.86 million in 2019. |
| 2022-07-11 | Macau welcomed more inbound visitors in 2021 Read More Macau in 2021 had 7.71 million inbound travelers, of whom 7.05 million from mainland China, grew by 20.7% over 2020 but still down by over 80% comparing to 2019. |
| 2022-07-08 | Hong Kong immediately suspend Flight Suspension Mechanism on July 7 Read More On July 7, Hong Kong SAR Government announced suspending with immediate effect and until further notice the Flight Suspension Mechanism and flights already been suspended can be resumed. Last month the city initiated 8 flight suspensions, each of which caused only by 8 imported confirmed cases but affected thousands of travelers. |
| 2022-07-07 | Bhutan to reopen border to foreign tourists in September Read More From September 23, foreign tourists can enter Bhutan, will be charged a Sustainable Development Fee of US$200 per head per night, up from the previous charge of US$65, and can choose their own operators and plan itineraries. |
| 2022-07-06 | Hong Kong new government start working on relaxing travel restrictions Read More Hong Kong's new Chief Executive said on July 5 the city will look into shortening mandatory quarantine requirement for travelers which at present is 7 days in quarantine hotel. The new Health Secretary expressed on July 4 hope to reopen border with Shenzhen before August 4. |
| 2022-07-05 | Mainland China further relax quarantine on incoming travelers Read More On June 28, China’s cut down quarantine for incoming travelers to 7 3 days instead of 14 7 days! Also, China embassies in 125 countries announce further relaxations which include requiring only tests of PCR and Antibody Test Igm 48 hours within departure but waive requiring Antigen Test 12 hours within departure etc. |
| 2022-07-04 | European airports try hard recruiting more staff Read More Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, which pre-pandemic employed some 68000 staff, now has around 58000 and need to hire, for example, some 500 security. Paris’s two airports have to fill 4000 vacancies |
| Date | Title |
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| 2022-06-30 | Thailand relax entry rules attracting foreign tourists Read More After relaxing entry rules, a total of 2.03 million foreign tourists visited Thailand between Jan 1 and June 26, and the top five markets are India, Malaysia, Singapore, UK and the USA. |
| 2022-06-29 | China shorten quarantine for inbound travelers Read More China announced on June 28 with immediate effect inbound travelers only need to undergo centralized isolation for seven days, instead of the 14 days previously, and then spend three days in self-quarantine at home. |
| 2022-06-28 | Global aviation lost heavily in pandemic Read More Global aviation industry lost 60% passengers in 2020 due to the pandemic and some 50% in 2021; lost nearly US$200 billion in these two years and expected to post a loss of US$9.7 billion in 2022, IATA said. |
| 2022-06-27 | Global aviation industry may back to be profitable in 2023 Read More IATA forecasted on June 20 that globally air passenger traffic this year will hit 83% of pre-pandemic levels, and the aviation industry within reach to return to profit in 2023. |
| 2022-06-24 | Hong Kong soon to review incoming quarantine Read More John Lee, Hong Kong’s incoming Chief Executive whose term will begin on July 1 told media he will quickly review quarantine for incoming travelers, which can include cut short quarantine period in hotel or shift to home quarantine so as to reduce inconveniences to international travelers. |
| 2022-06-23 | Cathay to add more summer flights Read More From August this year, Cathay will bring add flights between Hong Kong, and Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City etc. |
| 2022-06-23 | Hong Kong restarts outbound tour group to Japan Read More Hong Kong's first post-pandemic tour group to Japan departed on June 22 with itinerary covering Hokkaido and Tokyo etc. The 7 days tour which cost around HK$20000 per person including Covid-19 tests has ten tourists. |
| 2022-06-21 | China to add more flights to USA Read More Earlier, China Ambassador to USA announced international flights between China and USA will soon be increased from 18 flights per week to 24. |
| 2022-06-21 | China shorten flight suspension Read More China's flight suspension mechanism been adjusted and be cut down from 7 to 5 days, effective from June 1. |
| 2022-06-21 | China's airlines to add more international flights Read More Air China, China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines will in June and July add international flights to destinations including Italy, Belorussia, Central Asia, Turkey and UAE etc. |
| 2022-06-20 | Step China to ease slightly entry for Foreigners Read More China announced in early June that foreigners applying for working or family visas will not be required to obtain an invitation known as “PU Letters”, and the announcement subsequently confirmed by the country’s Foreign Ministry to business groups that it apply to all countries. |
| 2022-06-18 | Thailand removes most COVID travel restrictions Read More From 1 July 2022, international visitors to Thailand will only need to show either proof of being fully vaccinated or a negative RT-PCR or professional ATK test result within 72 hours of travel. |
| 2022-06-17 | Cathay to hire 4000 staff in the coming 1.5 year Read More Between now and the end of 2023, Cathay will recruit 4,000 staff who include 700 pilots, about 2,000 cabin crew, with the rest for frontline airport staff such as customer service. |
| 2022-06-17 | Cathay to add more flights covering more destinations Read More Cathay will continue adding more flights covering more destinations which totaled 30 at the beginning of this year, up to 45 in April and by the end of the year will be more than 60 |
| 2022-06-16 | Covid-19 hot spots in USA Read More The three sizeable urban centers in USA, namely, Miami-Dade County, Florida; Honolulu County, Hawaii; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, all average at least 85 new cases a day per 100,000 residents! On average, USA has 34 newly reported cases a day per 100,000 residents. |
| 2022-06-15 | More arriving flights to Hong Kong after easing restrictions Read More In recent months, Hong Kong cut hotel quarantine for new arrivals to 7 days, admit non-residents, and ease flight suspensions for airlines with test positive passengers. On average, daily arriving passenger flights in Hong Kong double to 38 in June, up from 19 in April before major restriction easing. |
| 2022-06-14 | Expert said Hong Kong can reopen to the world Read More Professor Hui, who advises the Hong Kong government on Covid-19 matters, said the city met the conditions for reopening to the rest of the world, media reported on June 13. On June 12, about 88% of the residents fully vaccinated and only 15 patients with severe covid-19 in hospital for treatment. |
| 2022-06-13 | Inter-province tour groups done well during China’s Dragon Boat Festival Read More Inter-province travel tour group businesses during China’s Dragon Boat Festival this year increased by 20% over the Ching Ming Festival and by 10% over the May Day Festival this year. |
| 2022-06-10 | China's domestic travel during Dragon Boat Festival slower than last year Read More China's domestic travelers during the Dragon Boat Festival totaled 79.61 million generating revenue RMB25.82 billion, which respectively around 86.8% and 65.6% of same period in 2019 but both lower than figures last year. |
| 2022-06-09 | Japan removes restriction on size of inbound tour group Read More Earlier, Japan announced foreign tourists including those from Hong Kong who join small tour group can enter the country from June 10 without quarantine. On June 7, Japan issued a new directive which does not include any restriction on size of an inbound tour group. |
| 2022-06-08 | South Korea further ease arrival restrictions Read More South Korea will from June 8 waive the 7-day quarantine requirement also for non-vaccinated foreign arrivals, and lift all aviation regulations imposed at Incheon International Airport so flights there can operate in a timely manner. |
| 2022-06-07 | More Hong Kong residents departed from airport in March Read More From government’s statistics, 64445 Hong Kong residents departed from the city’s airport, which respectively increases of 21.8% and 90.8% over Feb and Jan. |
| 2022-06-06 | Nearly half of departing Hong Kong residents in Jan left through airport Read More Totally, 71326 Hong Kong residents departed the city in January 2022, of whom 47.4% or 33779 departed from the city’s airport, according to Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics published by the Government. |
| 2022-06-06 | More Hong Kong residents departed in February Read More Totally, 86434 Hong Kong residents departed the city in February 2022, up 21.2% over the previous month, and of whom 61.2% or 52906 departed from the city’s airport, according to Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics published by the Government. |
| 2022-06-02 | Many Hong Kong couples fix travel plan jointly Read More DBS Bank Hong Kong this week released a survey report which found couples in Hong Kong were more likely to prioritize travel planning (45%) while only 32% have discussed financial plans. |
| 2022-06-01 | Japan welcome tour groups from Hong Kong without quarantine Read More Japan announced on May 26 that Hong Kong tourists joining tour group from June 10 can enter Japan without quarantine. An active travel agent reported already received over 100 enquiries, according to media report on May 2 |
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| 2022-05-31 | Hong Kong relaxes pre-departure testing requirement for inbound passengers Read More From June 1, Hong Kong will still require incoming air passengers a nucleic acid test within 48 hours before departure who need not give documentary proof of lab accreditation. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-31 | Hong Kong eases suspension mechanism for airlines Read More From June 1, airlines fails to check the required documents for passenger boarding to Hong Kong and triggering the so-called circuit breaker, the AAHK will issue a warning to that airline and impose a fine of HK$20,000. Repeat offenders will be banned from landing in Hong Kong from the same location for five days. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-30 | Quarantine waived for fully vaccinated Hong Kong citizens when entering S Korea Read More From June 1, Hong Kong citizens can apply for South Korea’s C-3 short stay visit which valid also for holiday, and those fully vaccinated will have their quarantine requirement waived. Valid for three months, C-3 visa allow travelers a single entry and to stay in South Korea for a maximum of 90 days. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-27 | China not included in Singapore’s current round of marketing Read More Chinese tourists, who contributed nearly 20% of all arrivals in 2019, are crucial to Singapore’s tourism recovery! Around 5000 Chinese travelers visited Singapore in April this year, whereas the same month in 2019 the number was 302,100. As the China market largely remain closed, at present, Singapore not ramping up marketing efforts there. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-26 | More foreigners traveled to Singapore Read More In all, 540,430 travelers visited Singapore in the first 4 months this year and among them 294300 came in April; while arrivals for the whole year of 2021 totaled only 329,990. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-25 | More foreign tourists visited Thailand this year Read More Thailand attracted 497693 foreign visitors in the first quarter this year, and some 1.02 million foreign visitors from January to May 22 this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-24 | Camping remain hot in China’s coming Dragon Boat Festival Read More Two weeks before the Dragon Boat Festival, booking for camping travel products during the coming holiday comparatively already more than doubled that in the May Day Holiday with each on average spending around RMB700, according to C-trip, China’s major travel portal. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-23 | Global tourism recovery quicken pace Read More Recently in a summit held in Singapore, IATA Chairman said global international tourism last year recovered to only 25% that of 2019 and to 42% in the first quarter this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-20 | Camping hot in China's May Day Holiday Read More Camping in neighboring area hot in China's May Day Golden Week. China travel portals, LY.COM reported such searches in the month before the holiday grew 117% while another portal mafengwo reported searches in the week before grew 130%. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-19 | New Zealand to open to non-visa waiver Countries Read More Announced on May 11 New Zealand will, from 11.59pm on July 31, admit tourists and students from non visa-waiver countries like China and India. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-18 | Japan re-opening door to foreign tourists Read More On May 17, Japan announced travelers from USA, Australia, Thailand and Singapore will be allowed to enter the country in this month, they took all three Covid-19 vaccination shots, in a small package tour group with a fixed itinerary and traveling with travel agent staff. Also, local media reported Japan is preparing to accept more tourists in June. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-17 | Hong Kong travel agents to resume Local Tours Read More Though the industry still suffering, encouragingly, over 480 Hong Kong travel agents already registered to resume local tour groups, according to the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-16 | Cathay carried more passengers this year Read More Comparing to the same period last year, Cathay’s passenger traffic in the first 4 months this year up 37.8%, while in April up 82.2%. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-13 | Tourism to recover fully in 2023 Read More In April this year, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) projects, the travel and tourism's contribution to global GDP is expected to grow 43.7% this year, and return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-12 | Hong Kong saw new low in daily new cases Read More Since the middle of April, daily number of new cases in Hong Kong been dropping to triple digits and recently hovering between 200 and 300 despite rounds of restriction relaxation.
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| 2022-05-12 | Media report Cathay to increase and resume summer flights Read More In AGM2022 held on May 11, Cathay management expressed the company will in reaction to the relaxations taken this month to try best to increase international flights and foretold to announce in the next one to two weeks summer flight schedule. Some Hong Kong travel agents believe there exist pent up travel demand and these travelers do not mind paying more for luxury travel. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-11 | Airbnb reported good summer business Read More Airbnb reported bookings by the end of April by room-night for summer already exceed same period in 2019 by 30%. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-06 | Fewer domestic travelers in China during May Day Holiday Read More During the May Day Holiday, the number of domestic trips in Mainland China dropped 30.2% year-on-year to 160 million, which equivalent to 66.8% of pre-pandemic level; while domestic tourism revenue dropped by 42.9% year-on-year to 64.68 billion yuan, which equivalent to 44% of pre-pandemic level. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-05 | Thailand welcomed more foreign visitors Read More After relaxation on testing and health insurance, Thailand saw foreign visitors rose 38% in March from February. Further, the country from April 1 relax entry rules for vaccinated travelers and welcomed 358,364 foreign visitors between April 1 and 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-05-03 | Singapore Airport handles even more passenger traffic amid relaxing restrictions Read More Singapore Changi Airport handled 1.14 million passengers in March which first time exceeding 1 million since pandemic! The city state lifted most travel restrictions on fully vaccinated travelers in early April and saw air passenger traffic to Singapore reached 400,000 in the week ending April 17. |
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| 2022-04-29 | Arrivals to Nepal doubled in first quarter Read More Foreign arrivals to Nepal in the first three months this year rose to around 79000 which more than doubled the figure same period last year, and tourism recovery expected to continue in coming months. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-28 | Camping popular in coming May Day Holiday in China Read More Tickets during May Day Holiday for parks where camping allowed saw sale volume grew over 50% compared to same period last year, and bookings of camping related products like tours and lodgings three times last year, from China’s major travel portal, Qunar.com. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-27 | Hong Kong admits non-residents from May 1 Read More From May 1, non-residents can enter Hong Kong if they meet requirements same as residents, which include full vaccination, negative test results before departure and booking of quarantine hotel etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-27 | Daily new cases in Hong Kong dropped to below 350 on April 26 Read More For the first time since the 5th Covid-19 wave, Hong Kong daily new cases dropped to 3 digits, specifically to 946 cases, on April 15, and kept dropping. On April 26, the city reported only 347 new cases.
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| 2022-04-26 | Hong Kong citizens join local tour and staycation during pandemic Read More From 2022 report published by travel portal Expedia in late March, 40% of respondents from Hong Kong reported taking staycation in their last holiday and 51% took some form of holiday locally in past 6 months. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-26 | Latest measures on traveling to Thailand from May Read More Effective from 1 May 2022, international passengers will be divided into two categories: "Fully vaccinated" and "unvaccinated/not fully vaccinated", replacing TEST & GO.
For entry measures into Thailand, CLICK HERE
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| 2022-04-25 | Holiday now even more important to Hong Kong citizens Read More Expedia's report say Hong Kong citizens' desire to travel keep growing, as holiday now becoming even more important to 92% respondents, and 25% already booked holiday for this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-25 | International destinations popular to Hong Kong citizens by Searches Read More Expedia reported, as of March 21, top ten destination cities by searches for lodging in the coming three months from April to June by Hong Kong citizens were respectively London, Tokyo, Bangkok, Taipei, Singapore, Osaka, Phuket, Paris,. Vancouver and Manchester. Above not include mainland China cities and Macau. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-22 | More Europeans visited SE Asia this year Read More Travelers to SE Asia so far this year came respectively from Europe at around 33%, up from 22% in 2019; North America at 21%, and Asia at 24% which far smaller than the 57% in 2019, according to ForwardKeys. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-21 | IATA predicts Asia Pacific traffic this year about 70% pre-pandemic level Read More IATA predicts air passenger traffic, including both domestic and international, within the Asia Pacific will reach 68% of 2019 in 2022 and rise back to pre-pandemic traffic by 2025. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-20 | Singapore and Philippines saw largest rebound in airline bookings Read More This year till late March, airline bookings to Singapore and Philippines were respectively at 72% and 65% of 2019 levels, which higher than Thailand’s 24%, according to ForwardKeys. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-19 | Airline bookings to SE Asia jumped in past months Read More According to travel firm Forwardkeys, international airline bookings to SE Asia at the beginning of this year were less than 10% of 2019 levels, but by late March reached 38% of pre-pandemic levels. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-14 | Suzhou travel agents suffer from booking cancellations this year Read More Also, Suzhou Travel Agents Association reported members lost over RMB21 million revenue due to over 40000 cancellations for holidays during the Spring Festival this year and those after March 8, which result of sudden surge of Covid-19. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-13 | Suzhou travel agents face great difficulties Read More On March 31, media reported some travel agents associations of Suzhou city in Eastern China, they visited 183 members, found over 90% of travel agencies were unable to pay for staff wages, social security funds and rent for April, while over 30% of employees have voluntarily resigned. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-12 | HK's daily Covid cases drop to around 1400 Read More Peaked on March 3 at over 56000 cases, daily new case in Hong Kong been dropping continuously to a new low of 1407 cases on April 11, of which 698 by PCR test and 709 by rapid antigen test.
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| 2022-04-11 | South Korea plans to resume international flights from May Read More On April 6, South Korea announced plan to resume international flights in three phrases. From next month, the government will authorize a further 100 weekly flights for destinations possible with visa-free entry and quarantine exemptions, such as USA, Europe, Thailand and Singapore etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-08 | WHO says it likely Covid-19 severity reduces over time Read More Among the three possible scenarios of how Covid-19 will evolve, the most likely one is the “virus continues to evolve, but the severity of disease it causes reduces over time”, from the World Health Organization on its March 30 release. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-07 | Philippine to waive quarantine for fully vaccinated travelers from China Read More From April 1, Philippine allows fully vaccinated travelers from China to enter the country without quarantine, who shall monitor by themselves health conditions for one week. However, inbound travelers shall bring along a negative result proof of a PCR based nucleic acid test for COVID-19 within 48 hours or a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) test, which must be conducted within 24 hours before departure. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-06 | South Korean agents reported outbound tours grew 4 times after lifting quarantine Read More Comparing bookings before and after the announcement of lifting quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated inbound travelers, one South Korean travel agent reported outbound tour bookings grew 4 times, with the SE Asia recording the largest growth, then Europe and Americas. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-04 | Pent-up demand drives S Korean flight bookings grew nearly 300% Read More One online travel agent in South Korea received more flight bookings between March 11 and 22 for Oceania ( 324%) Southeast Asia ( 268%) and Europe ( 262%) over the same period in 2021. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-04-01 | South Koreans rush abroad after lifting of quarantine Read More On March 11, South Korea announced lifting on March 21 a 7-day mandatory quarantine for fully vaccinated travelers arriving from most countries. An e-commerce unit of the country’s top mobile carrier reported sales of overseas air tickets between March 11 and 27 rose more than 8 times comparing to same period last year. |
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| 2022-03-31 | G20 to standardize Covid-19 protocols for easier traveling Read More G20 countries will standardize Covid-19 protocols to facilitate international travel. A common website portal, which can verify certificate of vaccination and test results carried by travelers, will be used at border crossings. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-30 | Indonesia removes quarantine requirement for International air travelers Read More Quoting Indonesia President, media reported on Mar 23 international air travelers arriving the country need only to take a PCR test but no quarantine be required. At present, only 7 Indonesian airports allow international arrivals by air. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-29 | Hong Kong to shorten airlines ban to 7 days Read More From April 1, Hong Kong will shorten “flight suspension mechanism” to 7 days from the current 14 days when the same flight carried three or more passengers who tested positive on arrival. This encouraging to airlines planning to resume flights. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-28 | Hong Kong daily new cases fell to below 9000 Read More Hong Kong daily new cases fell to below 9000
The 5th pandemic wave peaked on March 3 at over 55000, Hong Kong’s daily new cases dropped to below 9000 on March 26 and 27. Earlier, experts in the University of Hong Kong predicted the number will drop to below 1000 in late April then to double digits in May.
TABLE: Hong Kong Daily New Cases from mid to late Mar 2022
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| 2022-03-25 | Covid-19 cause China’s events be canceled Read More According to China Association of Performing Arts, some 9000 performances / events in the first quarter of the year would have been cancelled or postponed by the end of March, which account for some 30% of the quarter's total. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-24 | Hong Kong relaxing rules likely trigger outbound demand Read More The chairman for the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong commented recent relaxations of travel restriction for Hong Kong residents includes flight resumption and shorten mandatory hotel quarantine would trigger the city’s outbound travel demand. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-23 | Hong Kong to lift flight bans Read More Starting April 1, Hong Kong will lift the current flight bans from 9 countries including UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Philippines, France, India, Nepal and Pakistan; and will no longer classify overseas regions / countries into A, B and C risk categories. But in the first phase only fully vaccinated Hong Kong residents can board flights for Hong Kong. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-22 | Hong Kong to cut short quarantine for returning residents Read More From April 1, returning Hong Kong residents who met the following conditions can cut short quarantine stay in hotel from 14 to 7 days. (a) Before departure: fully vaccinated, 7 days booking in quarantine hotel in Hong Kong, negative PCR test results 48 hours before boarding. (b) Upon arrival, be required to go through a 7-day quarantine in hotels during which they are to be tested every day. If negative on the 6th and 7th day consecutive days, they can leave for self-monitor at home for another 7 days but can conduct business normally. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-21 | Vietnam removes quarantine requirements for int'l arrivals Read More From March 16, foreign visitors entering Vietnam will no longer have to undergo mandatory quarantine and only require to present proof of negative COVID-19 test, according to a statement by the Vietnam’s Ministry of Health. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-18 | Indonesia removes Covid-19 testing requirements for fully vaccinated domestic travelers Read More From March 8, fully vaccinated domestic travelers in Indonesia, including both citizens and foreigners, will no longer be required to undergo a Covid-19 test on all modes of transportation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-17 | Global Tourism Economy to recovery 60% to 80% in 2022 Read More The joint report by WTCF and CASS project global tourism receipt in 2022 will total US$4 trillion, with the Americas recovering over 80% of the pre-pandemic level, Europe to around 80%, the Asia Pacific to under 70%, while Africa and the Middle East each to around 60%. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-16 | Global Tourism to recover to 70% pre-pandemic level Read More A recent joint report by the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) and the Tourism Research Centre, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (TRC-CASS) predicts that global tourism will gradually recover in 2022, with number of travelers totaling 8.45 billion and the global tourism revenue totaling USD4.0 trillion or nearly 70% of the pre-pandemic levels. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-15 | UK removes all COVID-19 travel restrictions Read More UK will remove the remaining COVID-19 international travel restrictions from 18 March 2022, which mean all travelers no longer required to complete a passenger locator form or take any tests for when entering the UK. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-14 | India to resume international flights Read More On March 8, India announced plan to resume from March 27 scheduled commercial flight to international destinations. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-11 | Experts said Hong Kong’s 5th Covid-19 wave has peaked Read More A team from the medical school of the University of Hong Kong, in their analysis, said the city’s 5th pandemic wave may have peaked in the first week of March, and predicted new cases will start dropping to triple digits per day in April then to double digits in May. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-10 | Hong Kong citizens go abroad as pandemic at new height Read More Media reported on March 9 some 26000 Hong Kong citizens went abroad between March 1 and March 8, up 50% over same period last month, and over 70% or around 19000 of them departed from the city’s airport; and March 6 the busiest day with some 5000 departures over 80% of them by air. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-09 | Fully vaccinated foreigners can visit Bali without quarantine Read More From March 7, fully vaccinated foreign tourists entering Indonesia’s resort island of Bali are no longer require arrivals to quarantine but they need to remain on the island for 4 days | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-08 | IATA forecasts on air travel recovery Read More According to the latest update to IATA’s long-term forecast in February this year, in 2022, overall traveler numbers will be improved to 83% of the pre-pandemic 2019, 94% in 2023, 103% in 2024, and 111% in 2025. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-07 | Israel opens to all inbound travelers including from Hong Kong Read More From March 1, all travelers, vaccinated or not but tested negative in two PCR tests before departure and at arrival, can enter Israel without quarantine. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-04 | Singapore saw more arrivals from Hong Kong Read More Singapore Changi Airport in January this year received some 8000 arrivals from Hong Kong, up 88% over the month before. A total of 137 flights been scheduled to fly from Hong Kong to Singapore in March. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-04 | More departures from Hong Kong Read More Hong Kong recorded 71000 departures in Feb, the highest monthly figure since the pandemic. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-03 | Possible sign China could change Covid-19 Strategy Read More Calling it a possible sign that China could move away from its zero-Covid-19 strategy “in the near future”, a top Chinse scientist, Zeng Guang, wrote in his Weibo post on Feb 28 that the roadmap for Chinese-style to co-existence with the virus should be presented in the near future and at the right time. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-02 | Hong Kong may reopen borders this year Read More Hong Kong's Financial Secretary said on a radio program on February 25, it is quite hopeful that if the current wave of Covid-19 could be brought under control in the next two to three months, then Hong Kong could restart quarantine-free travel with the mainland towards the end of the second or in the third quarter, and may even reopen border for international travel within this year. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022-03-01 | Tourism expenditure grows in 2021 Read More Globally, tourism expenditures in 2021 totaled US$1.9 trillion, up by US$300 billion over 2020 but around half of that in a pre-pandemic year, from UNWTO. |
| Date | Title |
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| 2022-02-28 | International tourist arrivals - at least two more years back to 2019 level Read More UNWTO projected international tourist arrivals will rise by 30% to 78% in 2022 comparing to 2021, while 64% of experts expect international arrivals to return to 2019 levels only in 2024 or later, according to the survey data from the UNWTO Panel of Experts. |
| 2022-02-25 | 2021 Europe and Americas received more foreign tourists Read More International arrivals to destinations in Europe and the Americas in 2021, comparing to 2020, rose 19% and 17% respectively. |
| 2022-02-25 | Experts seeing positive outlook on global tourism Read More According to UNWTO Panel of Experts, 61% tourism professionals see better prospects for 2022. While 58% expect a rebound during the third quarter of 2022, 42% expect a potential rebound only in 2023. |
| 2022-02-24 | 2021 Global tourism declines continue into 2021 Read More Recent data from UN World Tourism Organization reveals international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) were dropped 72% comparing to 2019. Specifically, international arrivals to Asia Pacific destinations in 2021 dropped 65% comparing to 2020. |
| 2022-02-23 | Philippines reopens international borders Read More According to Philippine Tourism Secretary in a radio interview on Feb 21, nearly 22000 tourists have visited the country since Feb 10 when the country reopened its borders to international travelers and more expected. Fully vaccinated travelers and test negative before boarding can travel to Philippines without quarantine. |
| 2022-02-23 | On Feb 22, Hong Kong government announced measures to fight Covid-19, which for examples include: Read More
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| 2022-02-22 | Australia reopens international borders Read More From Feb 21, fully vaccinated international travelers can travel to Australia without quarantine. There is over 50 international flights arrivals are expected on that day, while Qantas looking to fly over 14000 passengers into the country in the first week. |
| 2022-02-22 | Malaysia targets to reopen borders in second quarter this year Read More Quoting Malaysia’s Health Minister, media reported on Feb 19 a realistic target to reopen the country’s international borders is early in the second quarter of this year. |
| 2022-02-21 | Singapore opens VTL to vaccinated Hong Kong Travelers Read More From Feb 25, fully vaccinated travelers will be able to enter Singapore from Hong Kong via Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) without quarantine but are required to take an on-arrival PCR test at the airport and self-isolate until negative test result is obtained; while those non-vaccinated be quarantined for 7 days. |
| 2022-02-18 | Indonesia to reduce quarantine requirement to those with booster shot Read More Starting from March, for inbound foreigners and returning citizens who had received their booster shot against Covid-19, Indonesia will reduce the quarantine period from five to three days which may even be abolished on April 1 if situation further improves. |
| 2022-02-17 | Turkey expects strong bookings for its Beaches Read More The high season of Turkey’s beaches in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas start in May. According to Turkish Hoteliers Federation, bookings from UK almost in line with 2019 which a good indication of strong demand also expected from other European countries. Traditionally, early bookings start with UK and are taken as a reference for the season. |
| 2022-02-16 | Omicron wreak havoc in Hong Kon Read More On Feb 14, Hong Kong reported 2071 newly confirmed Covid-19 cases of which nearly 95% Omicron, and totally 25051 cases since the pandemic! Also, experts predicted the current wave will peak end of Feb or in March. |
| 2022-02-15 | Vietnam opens to international flights Read More From Feb 15, Vietnam will remove Covid-19 restrictions on international flights for all markets and no limitation on the number of flights. |
| 2022-02-15 | China not renewing passport for leisure travel during pandemic Read More Official statement on Feb 12 say China will normally issue passports for citizens who need to travel abroad for business, study and employment, but will not renew passports for non-essential travel during pandemics when cross border travel poses great risk. |
| 2022-02-14 | More travel in the vicinity in China’s Spring Festivals this year Read More This year, Inter-provincial and intra-provincial tours during China’s Spring Festival Golden Week were 21.7% and 78.3% respectively. |
| 2022-02-11 | Domestic travel lower marginally in China's Spring Festivals this year Read More Domestic travelers in the 7 days of China’s Spring Festival Golden Week this year totaled 251 million, which down 2% over same period in 2020 and about 73.9% in 2019; and they contributed RMB289.2 billion tourism revenue, down 3.9% over last year and about 56.2% in 2019. |
| 2022-02-10 | Jakarta airport closed but others stay open for foreign arrivals Read More To slow down the spread of Omicron, Indonesia banned temporarily foreign tourists to enter the country through Jakarta airport, but airports in Bali, Batam and Tanhung Pinang in Riau Islands remain open. |
| 2022-02-09 | Hong Kong tightens social distancin Read More With some days this week reporting over 600 daily new cases, Hong Kong government announced on Feb 8 to tighten social distancing which include start enforcing vaccination passport on Feb 24 when entering certain types of facilities like restaurant, and change law allowing employers to fire absent employees who refuse to get vaccinated without valid ground etc. |
| 2022-02-08 | More inbound from mainland to Macau during Spring Festival Read More Over 100600 travelers from mainland China visited Macau during the Spring Festival Golden Week, which run from Jan 1 to Feb 6, up 29% over same period last year. |
| 2022-02-08 | Thailand to discuss with China soon for a bilateral travel Deal Read More From an official statement issued on Feb 7, Thailand government will soon discuss with China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism on details of a possible bilateral travel deal. |
| 2022-02-07 | Thailand reported good responses to its quarantine-free scheme Read More On 2 Feb, the Tourism Authority of Thailand reported that more than 60,000 people have registered online to enter the country under the “Test & Go” scheme since the scheme re-opened on 1 Feb and more expected. |
| 2022-02-04 | Hong Kong hotels suffer heavily from the pandemic Read More During the pandemic, Hong Kong hotels’ revenues dropped by more than 50% on average. Even though there’re some staycation or quarantine business, it just enough to pay for basic expenses such as staff salary according to the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners. |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2022-01-31 | UK to accept fully vaccinated travelers without quarantine Read More From 4am on 11 February, fully vaccinated travellers (two doses) will no longer need to take a lateral flow test (LFT) two days after they arrive UK. In addition, UK will also recognize vaccine certificates issued by 16 other countries including China. |
| 2022-01-28 | Hong Kong to resume outbound tour end this year or early next Read More The newly appointed chairwoman of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, Mrs Gianna Hsu predicts Hong Kong’s outbound tours will be resumed in the fourth quarter this year or early next year. In 2021, the total number of licensed travel agencies in Hong Kong dropped to 1662 which just below the figure in 2013, while practitioners of the tourism industry have dropped by 50% before the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic. |
| 2022-01-27 | Thailand re-open Test & Go Scheme for quarantine-free entry Read More Vaccinated international travelers can apply for quarantine free visa under Thailand’s Test & Go Scheme on Feb 1, which require them to take Covid-19 tests upon arrival and on the fifth day. Before its current suspension, Thailand’s Test & Go scheme helped attract about 350,000 vaccinated travelers in around two months. |
| 2022-01-26 | WHO reported Omicron peaked in Africa Read More In mid-January, the WHO regional office for Africa also said cases of Covid-19 and related deaths in that region started declining since the Omicron-dominated fourth wave. |
| 2022-01-25 | WHO said Covid-19 may be back but pandemic may not Read More WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said on Jan 23 that once the current surge of Omicron subsides, “there will be for quite some weeks and months a global immunity”, which happen “before Covid-19 may come back towards the end of the year, but not necessarily the pandemic coming back”! |
| 2022-01-24 | UNWTO predicts full recovery earliest in 2024 Read More The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said on Jan 18 that due to varying degrees of mobility restrictions, vaccination rates and traveler confidence result in uneven recovery across world regions, international arrivals not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024 in the earliest. |
| 2022-01-21 | Hong Kong ready for quarantine-free travel with mainland China Read More On Jan 12, the Chief Executive of HKSAR said in the Legislative Council Q&A session, preparation works with the mainland on resuming quarantine-free travel almost completed, and date will be fixed once when Hong Kong does not have new locally transmitted Covid cases for 14 consecutive days. |
| 2022-01-20 | UNWTO predicts tourism recovery continue in 2022 Read More On Jan 18, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reported global tourism arrivals saw a 4% growth in 2021 over 2020, and predicted a 30% to 78% growth in international arrivals this year over 2021! Thus, 2022 will be a year of recovery, though Omicron will cause disruptions in the early months! |
| 2022-01-19 | Two local cases in first half of January in Hong Kong Read More Hong Kong in the past 14 days (January 2 to 15), a total of 363 cases that tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been reported, which averaged 26 cases per day. 61 of them are epidemiologically linked with imported cases/possibly import-related cases, two are local cases, and the rest are imported cases. However, there been days with new cases only in single digit. |
| 2022-01-18 | ACCA survey: Majority surveyed accountants think Hong Kong GDP rebound this year Read More ACCA Hong Kong conducted a survey polling 170 of its certified accountant members in December 2021, 85% of respondents expect Hong Kong GDP to grow positively this year, with 44% believing growth ranging from 0 to 1.9%; 35% growth from 2 to 3.9% and 6% over 4%. |
| 2022-01-17 | Omicron peaked in UK and to peak in USA soon Read More Media reported daily new cases in UK in the second week of January dropped to an average of 140,000 from previous high of nearly 200,000. The Covid-19 Modeling Consortium by the University of Texas projected daily new cases in USA will peak in the second week of January. |
| 2022-01-14 | Thailand include more beach destinations in its Sandbox Read More From 11 Jan 2022, fully vaccinated international travellers can also enter Thailand under the Sandbox programme at either Krabi, Phang-Nga, and Surat Thani (Ko Samui, Ko Pha-ngan, and Ko Tao), in addition to Phuket. Travelers do not need to do quarantine but they must stay there for at least 7 nights and will then be allowed to visit other destinations in Thailand. |
| 2022-01-13 | Beijing Winter Olympics go ahead as planned Read More Despite recent spreading of Omicron in China, Chinese Olympic officials said on Jan 11 there is no plan to lock down Beijing in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics, which will take place from Feb 4 to Feb 20, as the situation is largely under control. But a large scale outbreak within the Olympic Covid-19 bubble would be different! |
| 2022-01-12 | Hong Kong only 1 omicron case of unknown source Read More Hong Kong confirmed the first Omicron case on Dec 30 and a total of 354 cases as of Jan 10 (or around 30 new cases per day), of which 312 imported, 41 locally infected but related to imported case and only 1 local case of unknown source. |
| 2022-01-11 | Indonesia targets more international arrivals in 2022 Read More Indonesia sets a target of attracting 1.8 to 3.6 million international visitors this year, up from the 1.5 million visitor arrivals in 2021 but fewer than the 4.05 million arrivals in 2020. |
| 2022-01-10 | China theoretically reach herd immunity Read More As of Jan 6 this year, 86% or 1.213 billion Chinese citizens had been fully vaccinated. Theoretically speaking, China’s herd immunity goal has been achieved, says expert. In fact, China has the lowest COVID-19 mortality rate in the world, with a prevalence rate of 9.4 per 100,000 and a mortality rate of 0.4 per 100,000. |
| 2022-01-07 | Macau bans air passengers from outside China Read More Macau will ban civil aircraft from carrying passengers from places outside China to Macau for two weeks starting from midnight on the coming Sunday. (9 Jan) |
| 2022-01-06 | Hong Kong to tighten measures to fight Omicron Read More On Jan 5, Hong Kong Chief Executive announced tightening measures to fight omicron, which include cancelling large scale public events like Cyclothon scheduled to be held within 14 days and cruise trips; ban all passenger flights including indirect arrivals from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, Philippines, UK, and USA from Jan 8 for 14 days etc. There will be a review 7 days after implementation of above. |
| 2022-01-06 | All Omicron cases in Hong Kong can be traced to source Read More As of Jan 5, Hong Kong so far recorded 114 omicron cases, and all can be traced to the source. |
| 2022-01-05 | Hong Kong with over 100 imported Omicron cases Read More Hong Kong so far has 107 Omicron cases, of which 102 imported, 5 related and no case of unknown source, according to media report in the morning on Jan 4. In past two years till Jan 3, the city has cumulatively 12677 confirmed Covid-19 cases. |
| 2022-01-05 | Quarantine-free travel border reopening with the mainland delayed as HK hit by the Omicron Read More Hong Kong Chief Executive told media in the morning on Jan 4 omicron cases recorded in the city will delay quarantine free border crossing with the mainland. |
| 2022-01-04 | Europe so far account for over one-third of Covid-19 cases Read More Over the past two years, the European region, which includes 52 countries and territories from the Atlantic coast to Russia and Azerbaijan, recorded over 100 million infections of Covid-19, of which over 4.9 million new cases confirmed the past 7 days from Jan 1. |
| 2022-01-04 | The World so far had around 300 million Covid-19 infections Read More From US John Hopkins University, the world recorded over 289 million infections of Covid-19 in the past two years. |
| 2022-01-03 | UNWTO on Tourism Recovery Read More On when international tourism will recover to 2019 levels, 43% of members of UNWTO Committee of Experts predict it happen by 2023 while 45% by 2024 or later, according to Secretary General of UNWTO in December 2021. |
