'Business as usual': Singapore tourism persists amid coronavirus outbreak

Singapore is among the countries that have been affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, as the country's Health Ministry announced on Monday that there were 77 confirmed cases of the virus and 24 people had been discharged from the hospital.

The outbreak has also affected the country’s tourism. The Singapore Tourism Board reported that 19.1 million tourists visited the country in 2019, a 3.3 percent increase from 2018. However, the number is forecast to drop about 25 to 30 percent this year.

“Every day, Singapore loses 20,000 tourists from all entrances [following the virus outbreak],” said John Gregory Conceicao, Southeast Asia executive director of the Singapore Tourism Board, during the Year-in-Review 2019 and Media & Trade Gathering event on Tuesday in South Jakarta.

China, where the outbreak first emerged, contributed to 20 percent of the country's international tourist arrivals. Indonesia ranked second after China with 3.11 million tourists traveling to Singapore last year.

Mohamed Firhan Abdul Salam, Indonesia area director of the Singapore Tourism Board, said at the same event that Singapore currently applied travel restrictions for tourists from China, including on direct flights to and from China. “It’s among the measures to contain the situation in Singapore,” Firhan said.

Despite the outbreak, Firhan said Singapore still continued with “business as usual”. He explained that thermal scanning had been performed in all entrances to Singapore and surgical masks were provided for the public, especially for those who are sick.

The country also has implemented contact tracing, meaning that those who have interacted with a coronavirus-infected person will be traced for further check-ups.

“We suggest travelers practice personal hygiene: wash your hands, wear masks if you’re sick and go to the doctor if you feel any symptom of fever and coughing,” Firhan said, adding that all tourist destinations in Singapore were still open to the public.

In fact, the country has new tourist attractions, including a new tower at the Marina Bay Sands, a rejuvenated Orchard Road and Jurong Lake District and the newly opened Magical Shores at Siloso in Sentosa Island that offers interactive beach light art.

In regard to the country's recovery, Conceicao said it would take longer than the recovery period from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, which took around five months.

“Maybe it will take five to six months. We’ll see whether we can recover by then,” he said, adding that the board planned to team up with travel agents, airlines and online travel agents to promote Singapore when the recovery period ends.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Cambodia - Hun Sen welcomes stranded cruise ship passengers

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 Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen this Friday (February 14) travelled to Preah Sihanouk Port to welcome MS Westerdam cruise ship’s passengers who disembarked.

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 The cheerful atmosphere was broadcast via BTV Cambodia television station and the official Facebook page of the Cambodian leader.

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The 1,455 passengers include tourists from 41 countries, including 651 Americans, 271 Canadians, 127 English and 91 Dutch.

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A spokesman for the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation of Cambodia said that charter flights were ready to take passengers from Sihanouk International Airport to Phnom Penh International Airport. Five to six flights were expected since each flight would be able to pick up around 180 passengers.
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The decision allowing Westerdam with more than 2,000 passengers and crew to dock at Sihanoukville, after being rejected by five countries, earned Cambodia appreciation from the World Health Organisation, the ambassador of the United States to Thailand and the European Union.

Source - TheNation

Luxury #Cambodia getaways win worldwide deluxe resort awards

Cambodia used to have the unwanted reputation of a “land of conflict and sorrow”. But that has dramatically changed in recent years. The Kingdom is now known as the place where you can find dome of the best and most alluring luxury destinations in the world.

Last week, that new reputation was strengthened with reports that Shinta Mani Wild and Song Saa Private Island bagged more than a few recognitions in the Destination Deluxe Awards 2019.

The Destination Luxury Awards are the brainchild of Destination Deluxe, a travel and wellness publication that picks and recognizes the top hotels, spas, treatment, skincare and wellness brands in the world. This is the inaugural edition for the awards.

There are 28 categories for the awards. The winners are chosen by a group of distinguished industry experts based on quality, transparency and originality. There are three ranked winners for each category.

Song Saa Private Island is the top awardee in the Eco-Hotel of the Year category. Soneva Fushi in Maldives and Morgan’s Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge in Nicaragua are also on the list.

The Khmer Tonic Spa in Shinta Mani Wild is number one in the Eco-Spa of the Year category. The others in the list are Fivelements Retreat Bali in Indonesia and FieldSpa GoldenEye in Jamaica.
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Shinta Mani Wild itself is the runner-up in the New Hotel of the Year and Hotel Design of the Year awards.

The other winners in the New Hotel of the Year category are Rosewood Hong Kong in Hong Kong and Amarla Boutique Hotel in Colombia.

For the Hotel Design of the Year, the others on the list are Datai Langkawi in Malaysia and Joe Lalli Resort Hotel in China.

“It is both an honour and very humbling that Bensley Collection-Shinta Mani Wild has been the recipient of ten awards in its first year of operation and a tribute to the GM and his team for their dedication, commitment and hard work on a daily basis,” Bill Bensley, the world-renowned designer behind Shinta Mani Wild, said.

“Shinta Mani Wild has an important eco and sustainability message, especially with our Wildlife Alliance partnership and their daily patrols to protect the forest and its inhabitants. These awards also bring much-needed awareness to the work we do in this regard,” he added.

The two Cambodian luxury destinations have reaped numerous international awards between them in recent years.

Shinta Mani Wild, which sits on 160 hectares of land between the Cardamon, Bokor and Kirirom national parks, said that it “provides the highest level of luxury while also working to protect the environment around it”. It opened two years ago.

Last year, it was included in the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Big Sleep Awards 2019, Time magazine’s “100 Greatest Destinations on Earth”, Condé Nast Traveller (UK) Hot List 2019, Harper’s Bazaar Ultimate Travel Guide 2019 (UK) : 100 Greatest Experiences in The World, among other recognitions. Located in Preah Sihanouk province, Song Saa Private Island is an ultra-exclusive and luxury getaway said to be frequented by some of the richest and most famous people in the world.

Last month, Luxury Travel Intelligence named it as among the “top 10 best luxury hotels built this decade”.

Source - Khmer Times

Thailand - Movie “The Cave Creates Huge Crowds at Chiang Rai’s Tham Luang Cave

12 young soccer players, members of the Wild Boars (Mu Pa) football team, and their coach were trapped inside the flooded cave in July last year. Their subsequent rescue, after 17 days.

Large crowds of people are now visiting Chiang Rai’s Tham Luang cave after the movie “The Cave” screened at theaters in Thailand. The movie is about the dramatic rescue last year of 12 boys and their football coach.

The movie “The Cave” is being shown at theaters nationwide. Tham Luang cave park officials said approximately 3,000 people are visiting the cave in Chiang Rai daily.

The Thamluang Khunnam Nangnon national park also provide a trolley service to the cave entrance.

According to park officials only 50 visitors are allowed to enter the first chamber of the cave at one time. They can also take pictures and tours are for only five minutes.

Tham Luang cave officially opened in November

The Tham Luang cave complex was officially opened for tourists in early November. Two nearby caves will be opened for nature study in the future.

The dramatic rescue of a boys soccer team from Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai, has also turned the area into a sprawling tourist attraction. Drawing well over 1 million visitors since the ordeal captured headlines worldwide last year.

12 young soccer players, members of the Wild Boars (Mu Pa) football team, and their coach were trapped inside the flooded cave in July last year. Their subsequent rescue, after 17 days.

Souvenir shops have sprouted in the cave area of Chiang Rai, in Mae Sai near the border with Myanmar. Selling T-shirts depicting Tham Luang cave and the rescuers.

A statue of Sgt. Maj. Saman Gunan, the retired Thai Navy SEAL who died during the rescue mission, stands near the cave entrance.Gunman was promoted to the rank of Lt-Commander after his death.

 A nearby memorial center features a virtual cave, as well as oxygen tanks used by the rescuers. Tourists can pose for pictures by a large mural depicting the rescuers, titled “The Heroes.”

Source - Chiang Rai Times 

 Former Chiang Rai Governor Disappointed with “The Cave” Movie

 Maybe not show him enough in the movie

#Cambodia to ban elephant rides at Angkor temples

Cambodia will ban all elephant rides at the country's famed Angkor temple park by early next year, an official said Friday, a rare win for conservationists who have long decried the popular practice as cruel.

The Angkor archaeological complex in northern Siem Reap attracts the bulk of the kingdom's foreign tourists -- which topped six million in 2018 -- and many opt for elephants rides around the ancient temples.

But these rides "will end by the start of 2020", said Long Kosal, a spokesman with the Apsara Authority, which manages the park.

"Using elephants for business is not appropriate anymore," he told AFP, adding that some of the animals were "already old".

 

So far, five of the 14 working elephants have been transferred to a community forest about 40 kilometres (25 miles) away from the temples.

"They will live out their natural lives there," Kosal said.

The company that owns the elephants will continue to look after them, he added.

Cambodia has long come under fire from animal rights groups for ubiquitous elephant rides on offer for tourists, also seen in neighboring Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. 

The elephants are broken in during training and rights groups have accused handlers of overworking them.

In 2016, a female elephant died by the roadside after carrying tourists around the Angkor Wat temple complex in severely hot weather.

The animal had been working for around 45 minutes before she collapsed.

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Vietnam - Pink grass festival to be celebrated in Lam Dong

Lam Dong —The pink grass in the area surrounding Dankia-Suoi Vang Lake in Lac Duong District, Da Lat City in the central province of Lam Dong is in full blossom at the end of November, marking the beginning of a festival in the province.

 

Celebrated from November 16-30, the Langbiang Pink Grass Festival 2019 will feature a variety of exciting activities like horse racing without saddles – a traditional sport of the K’Ho ethnic people, photo contests, gong performance and traditional games of the local ethnic minorities.

Particularly, this is the first time that the traditional wedding ceremonies of K’Ho ethnic people in the area will be revived via the notes and memories of the village patriarchs and artisans from Dung K’Si Village, Da Chais Commune.

According to Cil Poh, the vice chairman of Lac Duong Commune’s People’s Committee, K’Ho people follow matriarchy, meaning that K’Ho woman will “catch” her own husband and the men must live with their wives’ family.

The traditional wedding ceremonies of K’Ho people will take place in Dung K’Si, an ancient village located by the foot of Bidoup - Nui Ba, the highest mountain in the south of the Central Highlands.

According the organisation board, Langbiang Pink Grass Festival 2019 is a typical cultural activity oriented towards the 8th Da Lat Flower Festival that will be held in Da Lat City at the end of this year.

It is also aimed to enhance the attractiveness of pink grass hills in Lac Duong Commune among tourists and promote the upcoming launch of the construction of the Dan Kia – Suoi Vang National Tourism Site by 2030. 

Pink grass is a wild plant. It is common in forest areas, especially those with pine trees. When the plant is in full blossom in early winter, it carpets the whole area with tiny flowers which bloom into a collection of soft pink snowflakes.

The stunning view of a natural wonderland in Vietnam makes it a magnet to many photographers and tourists to Lang Biang Mountain in Lam Dong Province to capture such special moments of the year. 

 

Source - The Nation / Viet Nam News

#Bangkok governor: One krathong per family

With the annual Loy Krathong festival coming up tomorrow, Bangkok’s governor is urging residents and tourists to help reduce the number of discarded krathongs and floating lanterns, according to Thai-language Daily News.

This year’s motto from the governor is “One Krathong, One Family.”

Last year, the Bangkok authorities collected nearly a million discarded krathongs from local waterways. The vast majority were made from natural materials, with only a fraction made of styrofoam, which used to be popular but is now heavily discouraged.

The same message has been echoed around the country with provincial officials urging families to reduce the number of krathongs launched. They are also keen for people to make their own using natural materials and avoid styrene foam materials and steel pins to hold them together. 

You will find many pre-made krathongs on your way to, or at the entrance of, your favorite waterway. But ask them if they’ve been made from natural materials first.

Source - The Thaiger

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For launching locations in Bangkok, click HERE.

For launching locations in Phuket, click HERE.

For information about activities in Chiang Mai, click HERE.

Thailand - New app for ex-pat’s 90-day reporting

The “OSS Foreigner” app is coming, and you will be able to use it for 90 day reporting, according to the Secretary-General at the office of the PM.

 Dr Kobsak Pootrakool says the planned app can be used for all immigration reporting, including 90 day reports, adding that typing in the required data and uploading a selfie will accomplish the same result as filling out paperwork at the local immigration office but without having to make the trip there.

Dr Kobsak has been given responsibility for sorting out the TM30 debate and says the immigration app, called OSS Foreigner, is nearly complete and should make all those who live and work in Thailand feel more welcome and make compliance easier and more convenient.

The TM30 form, and its companion, the TM28, have been a source of expat displeasure over the past five months since the immigration department decided to enforce a little-used 1979 law that required foreigners to report their whereabouts if they had stayed overnight at an address different from their registered address.

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 This latest move comes as part of a wider program to make Thai public services more efficient, with Dr Kobsak making the announcement while outlining plans for all Thai government departments to embrace digital technology by as early as 2022.

Meanwhile, the Deputy PM Somkid Jatusripitak is championing a programme to improve Thai public services for both Thai citizens and foreigners.

“The government’s new approach to IT and digital technology is designed to deliver a smarter, easier service as part of the Thailand 4.0 economic model.” – The Pattaya News

  Application for android & iPhone for 90 day reporting called eServices

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Source - BangkokJack

#Cambodia plans Da Nang flight to boost tourism with #Vietnam

Prime Minister Hun Sen last week said a soon-to-begin direct flight between Phnom Penh and Da Nang, in central Vietnam, will boost the number of Vietnamese visitors to the Kingdom.

Speaking during a business forum during a two-day visit to Vietnam, Mr Hun Sen said the new fight, which will be operated by Cambodia’s national flag carrier, will play an important role in attracting more tourists from Vietnam.

“Vietnam continues to be the second-largest tourist market for Cambodia, and we expect to see more and more Vietnamese tourists choosing Cambodia as their holiday destination,” he said.

He said the Kingdom welcomed about 470,000 Vietnamese tourists during the first seven months of the year, an increase of 4.6 percent over the corresponding period last year.

Cambodia Angkor Air, the national flag carrier, recently announced that its Phnom Penh-Da Nang route will launch on Oct 27. Phnom Penh will become the second city, after Siem Reap, that the airline connects with Da Nang.

Mr Hun Sen said the new flight is a welcomed addition to the existing 112 flights that connect Cambodia and Vietnam every week.

Chhay Sivlin, president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, noted the number of Vietnamese tourists is on the rise.

“The flight will not only bring in more Vietnamese tourists. Foreign tourists that visit Da Nang now also have the opportunity to board a plane and travel directly to Phnom Penh,” she said.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon recently urged airlines in Vietnam to increase the number and frequency of flights to Cambodia, particularly to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and the coastal areas. He said that at least 15 percent of Vietnamese tourists prefer air travel.

The minister noted that Cambodia aims to attract about one million Vietnamese tourists a year by 2020. Currently, about 900,000 Vietnamese tourists visit Cambodia every year.

Cambodia and Vietnam have also agreed to cooperate on marine tourism once the new seaport in Kampot province is completed, which is expected to happen in 2021.

Mr Khon said marine tourism cooperation is an effective mechanism to boost cooperation among Asean countries.

According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Tourism, from January to July, Cambodia welcomed 1,154,786 visitors from Asean countries, a 5 percent hike compared to the same period last year.

Source - Khmer Times

Nationals of six more countries granted visa-on-arrival into #Myanmar (Burma)

The Myanmar government has introduced new regulations to facilitate easier access for foreign tourists as another step towards opening up the country to the world . 

 

Started from October 1, tourists from six countries (Australia, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and Switzerland) can enter Myanmar on visa-on-arrival (VOA) at Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw International Airports.

Pre-arrangement is not required for passport holders of these six countries, they can simply apply for a visa 

at any of the three airports for a fee of US$50 each. 

Visitors from Japan, South Korean, Hong Kong and Macau were granted visa-free entry last year.

Indian and mainland Chinese nationals were also granted visas-on-arrival (VOA) into Myanmar in a move to draw more Asian visitors to the country.

In the second quarter, Myanmar saw an increase in arrivals from countries granted visas free and visas-on-arrival treatment. 

"We hope the new regulation will lead to more foreign travellers to Myanmar, to discover the country's unique culture and most of all, the hospitality of its people," said May Myat Mon Win, Chairperson of Myanmar Tourism Marketing.

Myanmar Tourism Marketing has organised roadshows, trade shows and media familiarisation trips for journalists, TV producers and digital marketing influencers from around the world. 

Visa-free and visa on arrival entry from these Western countries would further boost growth of the Myanmar tourism industry.

Source - The Nation

#Thailand - Immigration overhaul – TM6 disappearing and TM30 App being launched

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“We made the decision last Friday. Within two to three months, life will be much easier for foreign tourists and expats.”

In what appears to be a major overhaul of immigration procedures, dare we say ‘modernisation’, foreign visitors will soon no longer have to fill out the “TM6” arrival forms. 

The white and blue form has been a source of confusion for decades as passengers try to fill them out on planes or in a mad rush when they arrive at immigration desks without them, for decades.

The reason for the decision to go all-digital with the arrival procedure is that, of all reasons, the storage of all the white and blue cards had become an issue.

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But wait, there’s more.

Now khaosodenglish.com are reporting that Thai immigration is not only doing away with the TM6 forms, they’re about to launch a new mobile phone app to make TM30 reporting easier.

Kobsak Pootrakool, the Deputy Secretary-General to the PM, also mentioned on Tuesday that another app is being developed to allow long-stay foreigners to complete their 90 day reporting with their smart phone. And, yes, he said a smartphone App was also going to make the TM30 reporting easier.

The TM30 form, and its companion, the TM28, have been a source of expat displeasure over the past five months since the immigration department decided to enforce a little-used 1979 law that required foreigners to report their whereabouts if they had stayed overnight at an address different from their registered address.

The same applied for landlords or owners of accommodation to report foreigners staying at their venues within 24 hours. Along the way there appeared cracks in the enforcement with all sorts of variations and conundrums being thrown up at organised panel meetings and online, little of which was answered with any certainty from the Thai immigration authorities.

 Kobsak now claims that the changes are designed to attract more visitors and accommodate those already living in the kingdom.
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“We made the decision last Friday. Within two to three months, life will be much easier for foreign tourists and expats.”

“Foreigners will be able to report their whereabouts with just four clicks on their smartphone to fulfill regulations that require them to report to immigration authorities every 90 days.”

Deputy immigration commander Nattapon Sawaengkit has confirmed the move to move the TM30 reporting online when contacted for comment, but assigned another officer to explain the details, according to the khaosodenglish.com report.

 Everyone’s favourite arrival procedure, the TM6 form.
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Source - The Thaiger

#Thailand scraps "arrival and departure card" for tourists and comes with app for TM30

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A senior Thai official said yesterday that foreign tourists will soon no longer have to fill in a "departure and arrival card" (TM6) when they arrive in Thailand.

Kobsak Pootrakool, deputy sec-gen to the Prime Minister, also touted a mobile application in the works for 24-hour reporting under the TM30 form system, which has been a source of controversy in recent months. Kobsak said both changes are designed to attract more visitors and accommodate those already living in the kingdom.

“We made the decision last Friday. Within two to three months, life will be much easier [for foreign tourists and expats],” Kobsak said.

He spoke at a gala dinner to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Elite Plus Magazine at a hotel in Bangkok on Tuesday evening, where audience members included ambassadors from ten or so countries.

Explaining the government’s decision, Kobsak said arrival and departure forms for tourists, known as TM6 forms, have led to a storage problems. The government expects a total of 20 million visitors to Thailand this year.

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“[The immigration police] have to have a huge warehouse to store these papers,” Kobsak said, adding that the police rarely look at the information in the forms, which are only stored “just in case.”

He also said the government and the immigration police agreed last Friday to streamline other procedures. Foreigners will be able to report their whereabouts with just “four clicks” on a smartphone to fulfill regulations that require them to report to immigration authorities every 90 days.

But the cherry on top seems to the revelation that the police are developing a mobile phone application for the infamous TM30 form, which requires foreign residents and their Thai landlords to file a report to the police every time the former spends a night outside their registered province.

Tourists are generally exempted from the rule, as the forms are filed by their hotels and accommodation hosts.

Deputy immigration commander Nattapon Sawaengkit confirmed the move on Wednesday when reached for comment, but assigned another officer to explain the details.

The officer, who declined to give his name, gave little information other than hinting that QR codes will likely be used.

“The apps are not finished yet. QR codes will likely be used but it’s not concrete yet. It will likely be on a smartphone,” the officer said.

Harsher enforcement of TM30 forms has recently driven expats in Thailand to air their grievances on social media. They say the 40-year-old regulation is outdated and should be amended or scrapped entirely.

The European Association for Business and Commerce, which represents European firms and businesses in Thailand, also urged reforms to TM30 in a statement to Kobsak yesterday.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday night, Kobsak said the law will still remain on the books, but pledged to end foreigners’ discontent with the form. He also acknowledged the government should do better in attracting foreign investment and manpower.

Source - Khaosodenglish

Vietnam - Mastercard lists Hanoi, HCMC among top 20 Asia-Pacific travel destinations.

Hanoi is in 15th position and Ho Chi Minh City in 18th among Mastercard’s top 20 Asia-Pacific destinations for international travelers this year.

Mastercard ranked 161 cities in the Asia-Pacific based on the number of overnight international arrivals and travel spending, using data primarily from national tourism boards.

Last year Hanoi received 4.8 million overnight international visitors, who stayed for 3.8 days on average while the southern metropolis had 4.1 million arrivals who stayed for 5.3 days, according to the annual Asia Pacific Destinations Index drawn up by the U.S. payment company, released last Friday.

The average spending by foreign tourists was $78 a day in Hanoi last year and $98 in Saigon, much lower than in Bangkok ($184), Singapore ($272), Kuala Lumpur ($142), Phuket ($247), or Bali ($125), it said.

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The top five destinations in the list were Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, and Seoul, welcoming over one-fifth, or 22 percent of all overnight visitors to the region’s top 161 cities and regional centers in 2018.

Last year the region received 342.2 million business and leisure visitors, up from 159.1 million in 2009, representing 8.9 percent growth annually.

During the period spending by travellers grew by 10.2 percent to more than double from $117.6 billion to $281.1 billion.

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While many Asia Pacific destinations are basking in the growth led by mainland Chinese travelers, South Korea and Japan have also emerged as major source markets, the report noted.

Mainland China accounts for 18.2 percent of international overnight arrivals, South Korea for 9.1 percent and Japan for 6 percent.

"While the world's economic, geopolitical, technological and societal landscapes have all changed dramatically since Mastercard launched this research 10 years ago, one thing has remained constant: the desire of ever-growing numbers of people to explore the world beyond their own borders," Rupert Naylor, senior vice president of Mastercard Advisors in Asia Pacific said.

Last year HCMC and Hanoi were among the world’s 100 most visited travel destinations, a Euromonitor International report said.

Source - VN Express

Thailand - TM30 not fit for purpose

In March, the Immigration Bureau resurrected the draconian regulation known as TM30 with the aim of keeping track of foreigners' whereabouts. It is legitimate to wonder whether any foreign criminals have disclosed their movements to authorities via the TM30 form.

The possibility seems unlikely, even though this is the ultimate goal of the latest enforcement of this regulation. What is certain, though, is that it has blighted the lives of law-abiding foreigners with a hellish web of paperwork.

Over the past couple of months, a broad spectrum of expat communities here have chorused their disagreement with the regulation, sharing experiences of how the law has made their stay in the country unnecessarily complicated and is affecting the ease of doing business and investment here.

This diverse feedback should be treated as strong enough evidence for Thailand to put an end to the hassle. And a solution could be as simple as amending the 1979 Immigration Act. But the outpouring of expat frustration seems to have fallen on deaf ears in government.

The regulation was made at a time when the country was facing an influx of Vietnamese and Cambodians fleeing conflicts at home, and authorities understandably wanted to keep an eye on them. This was also a time when the number of foreigners was just a small fraction of the current figure.

The Immigration Act's Section 38 requires that landlords must report the presence of any foreign tenants to authorities within 24 hours of their arrival.

Section 37 imposes the same rule on foreigners. They must report their nightly whereabouts, as and when they move around the country.

Failure to report means a fine of 800 to 2,000 baht and also the risk that the foreigner may be denied extension or renewal of their visa or work permit.

As time went by, the regulation fell into disuse, largely because it was no longer practical and too rigid. Reporting foreigners' whereabouts to authorities was mainly done by hotel operators on a weekly basis to comply with the 2004 Hotel Act.

In the absence of TM30 enforcement, the country had been efficiently managing expats and tourists via the hotel law and other immigration regulations. Everyone seemed to be happy, until the TM30 rule was dusted off and began baffling both Thai landlords and expats.

The Immigration Bureau has cited national security as the reason for enforcing the law again, expressing concern over foreign criminals who stay here for extended periods.

But immigration officials' mission to keep "bad guys out" must now be bogged down by the huge volume of paperwork triggered by the revival of TM30 rules.

Ensuring public safety is a noble cause. But it won't be achieved by applying the toothless and outdated TM30 regulation as a blanket measure that treats all foreigners as criminal suspects whose movements need to be strictly monitored.

Officials appear to have forgotten that this self-disclosure measure only affects law-abiding people. Criminals or terrorists will not be as naive as to tip off authorities about their movements or even inform their landlords.

Authorities must come up with alternative anti-terrorism and anti-crime strategies if they want to stay a step ahead of foreign criminals.

The TM30 has done more harm than good. The government and parliamentarians should push for amendments to the Immigration Act to do away with it.

Source - BangkokPost

#Vietnam named among world’s fastest growing travel destinations

American tourists walk on Bui Vien Street, a popular backpacker precinct in Saigon. 

Vietnam is the only Southeast Asian country among 10 world's fastest growing travel destinations, according to a United Nations report.

The country's tourism industry is moving in the right direction, and its 2018 visitor numbers rose at one of the fastest rates in the world, the 2019 Tourism Highlight report released by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) early this week said.

"In Southeast Asia, most destinations posted strong growth, particularly Vietnam. Outbound tourism from China and India fuelled growth in many destinations in the region."

Vietnam's foreign visitor numbers rose 19.9 percent to a record 15 million last year, putting it 10th in the list of fastest growers, which was topped by Ecuador with 51 percent. Iran was second with 49.9 percent and Egypt, third with 36.8 percent.

The rest of the top 10 were Uganda (31.9 percent), Comoros (28.2 percent), Nepal (24.8 percent), Slovenia (23.4 percent), Turkey (21.7 percent), and Palestine (20.5 percent).

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  The report said France was the most visited country in 2018 with 89 million, followed by Spain and the U.S.

Thailand remained the region’s largest destination attracting around 38.2 million foreign arrivals.

The Asia-Pacific region had the second highest market share of 25 percent after Europe’s 51 percent. The Americas were third with 15 percent.

In the Asia-Pacific, growth was significant in Southeast and South Asia. Southeast Asia received 128.7 million visitors, a 7.8 percent increase, the highest rate in Asia.

"Growth in international tourist arrivals and receipts continues to outpace the world economy and both emerging and advanced economies are benefiting from rising tourism income," said Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary general of the UNWTO.

Tourism last year contributed 8.39 percent to Vietnam’s GDP. The government seeks to make the industry an economic spearhead.

 With visa waivers for several countries in Asia and Europe, the government expected to see around 20 million foreign visitors in 2020 and earn $35 billion in annual revenues by then, equivalent to 10 percent of GDP, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

Vietnam will become a leading travel destination in the next five years, the latest Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts report released by the Pacific Asia Travel Association said.

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Source - VN Express

 

#Booking.com offers options for a ‘sneeze-free’ vacation

 Booking.com, a global leader in connecting travellers to a wide choice of places to stay, is delving into its more than 29 million listings in over 153,000 destinations to come up with six destinations where people can have a “sneeze-free” vacation.

 Gran Canaria in Spain, which enjoys sunshine all year round, is a haven for travellers who suffer from hay fever as it has a very low pollen count. You can book a stay at B’SLOW San Agustin aparthotel, which offers picturesque views of the nearby Las Burras Beach.

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 Or you can go for a cooler option and a breath of fresh air at Coronet Peak in New Zealand. Pollen cannot survive in snowy weather. One of the nicest places to stay is the Canyons B&B, which boasts sweeping views of the surrounding mountains, the Shotover River and Coronet Peak.

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 If you plan to go to the US, you might consider Colorado Springs. In the summer and autumn months, especially July and October, the dry, desert-like surroundings contain few plants, allowing you to clear your head and give your itchy eyes a break. Breathe in crisp mountain air as you embark on a hike and take in popular sites and surroundings such as Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak and the Broadmoor Seven Falls.
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Offering stunning views of the Cheyenne Mountain, Cheyenne Mountain Resort Colorado Springs, A Dolce Resort boasts five swimming pools, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a 25-acre lake for sailing and a full-service spa.
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 For fresh Alpine air, you can head north to Whistler, British Columbia – a paradise for skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts and home to Whistler Blackcombe, one of the largest ski resorts in North America.

Whistler Mountain typically stays open for skiing and snowboarding until late May. If you’re looking to swap your snow boots for hiking boots, popular hiking trails include Lakeside Park, Cheakamus Lake and the Ancient Cedars Trail.

The place to stay is Whistler Lodge Hostel, which offers affordable accommodation in an ideal location.

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 Meanwhile, the heavy rainfall, short pollen season and few trees in the Scottish Highlands can provide a retreat for travellers suffering from hay fever. The surrounding moorlands and mountain terrain also provide respite as the vegetation is relatively free of allergens.
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  The place to stay is the Air an Oir – Skye Self Catering holiday home in Portree, which offers stunning sea views and a revitalising breeze of salty fresh air. During your stay visit the quaint Portree Harbour and marvel at the famed rugged landscapes with a hike across Lealt Falls.
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Source - The Nation

#Vietnam - Festival to offer paragliders views of northern terrace fields

Mu Cang Chai, a rural district in Yen Bai Province with iconic rice terraces, will host a paragliding festival from September 20-22.

The annual festival, organized by VietWings Hanoi Paragliding Club since 2013, has become the largest such event in the country.

Its timing makes the festival more popular: it coincides with the rice harvest season in Mu Cang Chai, which is said to be at its most beautiful from late September to early October, when the fields are dyed yellow.

This year around 200 local and foreign competitors are expected to take part in the festival, six times the number in its inaugural year.

The paragliders will take off from Khau Pha Mountain, one of the four most dangerous passes in Vietnam due to its foggy winding roads and steep terrain.

Khau Pha rises 1,200 meters, and will provide the contestants with the best views of the golden carpet stretching over 500 hectares in the Mu Cang Chai valley.

Visitors who love adventure can join the paragliders as passengers and ride tandem over the terrace fields, voted as one of "the most colorful places" on the planet by U.S.magazine Condé Nast Traveler.

Mu Cang Chai, around seven hours by road to the northwest of Hanoi, is at the foot of the Hoang Lien Son mountain range.

The H’Mong ethnic group started carving rice terraces into the mountains centuries ago and continue to plant the crop today.

In 2017 the terraced fields were named one of the 19 most picturesque peaks on earth by U.S. travel site Insider.

Source VN Express

#Bangkok top destination for Vietnam National Day holiday

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Grand Palace in Thailand's Bangkok

  Thailand's capital is the most popular destination for Vietnamese choosing to travel abroad during the three-day national holiday that starts this Saturday.

Agoda, the world's leading online accommodation reservations provider, has used bookings data for travel between August 31 and September 3 to assess the 10 most popular overseas destinations for Vietnamese travelers for the National Day (September 2) holiday.

Bangkok tops the list, followed by Singapore and Bali in Indonesia. Bali is one of the world's most popular travel destinations, dubbed the Island of Gods and a paradise on earth with its beautiful beaches, ancient Hindu culture and vibrant nightlife.

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 The resort island of Bali in Indonesia.

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 Around one million Vietnamese came to Thailand in 2018, putting Vietnam among the kingdom's top 10 tourism markets, according to a recent report by the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Bangkok’s high popularity among Vietnamese holiday goers is reflected in the fact that 30 airlines have direct routes connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with the city.

Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur came in fourth while Taiwan’s Taipei stood in the fifth position.

The rest of the top 10 included South Korea’s Seoul, Japan’s Tokyo, France’s Paris, Thailand’s Pattaya and Cambodia’s Phnom Penh.

Citizens of ASEAN member nations can travel within the region without applying for a visa and stay as a tourist for a maximum of 30 days.

 Increasing numbers of Vietnamese have been going abroad in recent years. Last year, 8.6 million traveled overseas, up 15 percent from a year ago.

Vietnamese tourists spend an estimated $7-8 billion per year overseas, said Vu The Binh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association. "Vietnamese traveling abroad is a growing trend," he added.

Industry insiders said that as more Vietnamese join the middle class, they are increasingly looking outward for travel destinations. A World Bank report in 2017 said the country is seeing an increasing number of people, estimated at 1.5 million each year, join the ranks of the middle and upper classes.

"As Vietnam’s economy grows, and an increasing number of citizens join the ranks of the global middle and upper classes, more people are going to take an interest in traveling the world," said Sean Preston, Visa's country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

According to Mastercard, Vietnam has the second fastest growing outbound market in the Asia Pacific region after Myanmar, with projected annual growth of 9.5 percent between 2016 and 2021. The firm has forecast that some 7.5 million Vietnamese travelers will venture outside the country in 2021.

Source - VN Express

Vang Vieng Moves Closer to Becoming Laos’s Official Tourism Town

The Lao government laid out its plan to nurture Vang Vieng district into the country’s “official tourism town” by 2020, and signs are emerging that this goal is one step closer to completion.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced that it is providing USD 47 million for infrastructure development in the district and around the Nam Ngum reservoir to accommodate the growth of tourism.

The planned developments, which are expected to begin next year, include a wharf, parking facilities, community market, and a fishing village, as well as a garbage collection site, Vientiane Times reported on August 23.

In addition, a 6-kilometer road will be built to connect with Road No. 10, which should help to address congestion around the reservoir.

Separately, China’s Xinhua News Agency has published a six images providing a quick peek at the construction site  of the Vientiane-Vang Vieng expressway, well underway.

The Vientiane-Vang Vieng expressway is a part of the China-Laos expressway, which is co-developed by China Yunnan Construction and Investment Holding Group and the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment.

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The Vientiane to Vangvieng section stretches 109.1 kilometers and is expected to shorten the travel time from the current four hours to just 1.5 hours, according to Xinhua.

Laos and China agreed in November last year to begin construction on the USD 1.2 billion road to link Sikeuth village in Naxaithong District, Vientiane, to the Vang Vieng District.

At that time, it was estimated that it would take about three years to complete the construction.

Vang Vieng is already one of the top tourist destinations in Laos, many areas desperately need improvements, such as road access to visitor attractions, cleanliness, services, and tourism-related facilities.

Prime Minister Thongloun recently made a working trip to Vang Vieng to assess the district and offer advice on how to better develop the tourist town.

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In May last year, the Lao government set a total of 108 requirements to meet before Vang Vieng can be designated a tourism town and has been working toward this goal since then.

In addition, district authorities have been collecting information on the tourism industry to take it to the central government for detailed discussion.

Vang Vieng sees more than 10,000 tourists every month, with South Koreans accounting for 70 percent, along with Chinese, Lao and others, according to the district’s estimation.

Source - The Laotian Times 

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#Vietnam - Trees that grow green tea and their own snow

Well-known tea production areas in Vietnam are Mộc Châu, Thái Nguyên, Lâm Đồng and Phú Thọ, but when it comes to tea trees of hundreds of years old, the important provinces are on the axis from the northeast to the northwest such as Hà Giang, Lào Cai, Yên Bái, Sơn La and Điện Biên.

My search for old tea trees was motivated by tales about a tree hundreds of years old in the Hà Giang highlands that grows wild and has a white down. Monkeys are trained to pick this tea, because the job is dangerous for humans.

The trees are called chè (tea) san tuyết (san – transcription of a Chinese word which means mountain and tuyết means snow).

I started along the mountain range of West Con Linh in Hà Giang Province. This province shares its border with China on its northeast side. I was disappointed to find that some very big plantation tea trees – two or three people can barely join hands around the trunk – had been cut down, milled and sold away to China since 2008. The law does not prohibit the felling of plantation tea trees. There are only trees with trunks 20 cm to 40 cm across left. According to the tea-growers I have met, tea trees 20 cm across are 60 to 80 years old.

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Until recent decades, the Dao ethnic groups used to grow tea trees. Above their doors they used to hang bundles of tea for the treatment of stomach upset or ailments caused by the weather or miasmas.

The lowlanders have known about the old san tuyết tea trees in Hà Giang since 1979 when their soldiers went to the frontier to defend the country against an invading Chinese.

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Mr Ngo Viet Thanh, a tea dealer in Hà Giang, told me that san tuyết tea trees in Hà Giang grew untended on the highlands above 1,000 metres. The san tuyết tea in Hà Giang has a tart taste when drunk for the first time due to a high level of tannin, but then the taste becomes pleasantly sweet. ‘The ethnic people consider this a gift from the heavens and pick they take it without having to tend it’, he said.

Mr Thanh in 1993 he began to be interested san tuyết tea. He went to hamlets and villages in the Hà Giang highlands to bring it to the lowland markets. I accompanied him to the Nhìu Sang Dao hamlet, in the commune of Xín Chải, Vị Xuyên District, Hà Giang Province. It took us more than two hours to go 50 kilometres in a Russian automobile, covering steep, stony and dangerous tracks along the Vietnam-China border, with precipitous slopes above and below.
The old tea trees in Nhìu Sang, close to the Dao houses, have a diameter of 20 cm and more. A dozen kilometres away from Nhìu Sang, where the Mông Hoa (Flower Hmong) ethnic group live in Lao Chải, there are tea trees with trunks that can only just be circled by the arms join clasping hands. Mr Thanh said ‘It was hard to transport the tea out because of the tracks full of obstacles. People picked the tea, dried it in the sun, and sold it to Chinese merchants. It is a few kilometres from Lao Chải to China.

I was told that on top of Mount Fansipan, in the Hoàng Liên Sơn mountain range, there were tea trees hundreds of years old.

Having got through a number of paperwork formalities that required waiting two days, I had permission to enter Hoàng Liên National Park on foot in search of old tea trees. The path I travelled on there was the one travellers take for the peak of Mount Fansipan, the highest mountain in Vietnam.

At an altitude of 2,200 metres, I and my guide came to a fork. On the right a path led to Fansipan’s top. We took to the left, leading to a ravine. The guide warned me that the area where the tea trees grew had a warm climate that favoured several kinds of snakes.
The first tea tree I found was about a metre in diameter and taller than I could estimate. It was hard to recognize it as a tea tree because the whole area was dark green, every root covered with a lush, green moss. Under the canopy was a fern forest. Although I had seen several old tea trees, I had never seen such lofty and big ones. The trunks were close to each other and covered with a white mould. This made the tea trees very different from the other kinds of trees in the area. The guide told me that from the altitude of 2,200 metres up to 2,800 metres, there were old tea trees everywhere and the higher we got the smaller and shorter they would be.

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VIDEO

  Ha Giang tea tree remains productive after 500 years
A 500-year-old Shan tuyet tea tree in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang still retains its productivity and the special taste of its leaves.

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