#Cambodia - Construction of new Phnom Penh airport on schedule

Construction of a new airport that will serve Phnom Penh is on track and could be completed as early as 2023, the developer said.

Pung Kheav Se, chairman of the Overseas Cambodia Investment Corporation (OCIC), the company behind the project, said they are now building the foundations of the airport, conducting an environmental impact assessment, and negotiating with people affected by construction.

Mr Kheav Se was speaking to reporters yesterday at the Cambodia International Construction Industry Expo in Phnom Penh’s Diamond Island

Mr Kheav Se, a renowned investor and chairman of the Board of Directors of Canadia Bank, said, “We are now laying the foundations and building the runway. If there are no issues with the land, I believe that the airport will be ready by 2023.”

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OCIC has invested in numerous big projects in Cambodia, including Diamond Island Development City, Olympia City, and, most notably, Chroy Changvar Satellite City.

Sin Chansereyvutha, spokesman of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said the airport is not likely to be finished so soon.

“We need time to clear the land and lay the foundations and solve any land dispute. As per our schedule, the new airport will be ready by 2024, but it may be delayed until 2025,” he said.

Chrek Soknim, president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association, said the project is a significant achievement for the nation that will boost the economy.

“Once the new airport is finished, the real estate and construction sectors in Cambodia will attract more investors. The land around the airport has attracted a lot of investment already after it was chosen as the site of the new airport,” Mr Soknim said.

Source - Khmer Times

Runaway warming could sink fishing and reef tourism, researchers warn

Countries from Egypt to Mexico could lose 95 percent of their income from coral reef tourism, and parts of West Africa could see their ocean fisheries decline by 85 percent by the turn of the century if planet-warming emissions continue to rise, oceans experts warned Friday.

"Action in reducing emissions really needs to be taken, or we will be facing very important impacts" on oceans and people, said Elena Ojea, one of the authors of a new paper looking at the potential impacts of climate change on ocean economies.

The study, released at the UN climate negotiations in Madrid, was commissioned by the leaders of 14 countries with ocean-dependent economies, and looked at ocean fisheries and seafood cultivation industries, and coral reef tourism.

It found that reef tourism, a nearly $36-billion-a-year industry today, could see more than 90% losses globally by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario.

Countries particularly dependent on coral reef tourism - Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand and Australia - could see income cut by 95 percent, the paper noted.

Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, an ocean expert at Australia's University of Queensland and one of paper's authors, said his country's Great Barrier Reef tourism industry - worth billions a year a year - was already seeing losses as corals bleached and died.

Ojea, of Spain's University of Vigo, said the 30 million people directly employed in ocean fishing each year also "will be heavily affected" as fish struggle with hotter and more acidic oceans and move to new ranges or die.

She said the problem was most serious in equatorial regions, with some West African nations, in particular, facing "very huge losses" by the end of the century if emissions rise well beyond the 2 degree Celsius limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

But some cooler areas of the planet could see a rise in local fish stocks as fish move to cooler waters, she said.

Efforts to adapt fisheries to changing conditions and better manage them, alongside stronger efforts to curb climate change, could cut expected losses, however, said Timothy Fitzgerald, director of the US-based Environmental Defense Fund's Fishery Solutions Center.

"We know the most well-managed fisheries are also the most resilient to climate change," he told journalists at an event on the sidelines of the UN talks.

Vidar Helgesen, Norway's special envoy to the 14-nation High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, said the paper should send a "very strong message to the world" on the need to act swiftly to prevent growing ocean-related losses.

The report builds on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's findings that climate-related damage to oceans is likely to cost the global economy nearly $430 billion by 2050, and close to $2 trillion by 2100.

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Indonesia - Nusa Penida named best destination for backpackers to visit in 2020

Nusa Penida in Klungkung regency, Bali, has topped the list of 20 best destinations for backpackers to visit in 2020 released by Dublin-based online hostel reservation platform Hostelworld.

In the past 12 months, the number of bookings made by British tourists for accommodation in Nusa Penida increased by up to 610 percent, according to the company, confirming the region as the most popular destination among UK citizens during the period.

Located in the southeast part of Bali, Nusa Penida's Banjar Nyuh Port is reachable by speed boat from Sanur Port in Bali. Domestic and foreign tourists can be found enjoying a day trip there or spending at least one night on the island, which is especially famous for its Kelingking Beach, which boasts a Tyrannosaurus Rex-shaped cliff and is home to manta rays and Bali starlings, locally known as jalak Bali.

Regarding accommodation, Hostelworld said the island does not disappoint. "It’s a boutique hostel with gorgeous bungalows, a beautiful Bali-esque pool and outdoor social spaces where you can enjoy your free daily breakfast," reads the description on its website.

 

During their stay, holidaymakers can rent motorcycles or cars to explore the island, as reported by kompas.com

Following behind Nusa Penida on the best backpacker destination list based on the biggest growth in bookings were Surat Thani in Thailand and Maribor in Slovenia. 

 

Source - TheJakartaPost

#Vietnam - Bells toll as Hanoi, Nha Trang named top honeymoon destinations

Hanoi and beach town Nha Trang have been listed among the top 10 honeymoon destinations by The Travel, a leading travel site of Canada, for newlyweds visiting Asia.
Vietnam’s capital ranked second while Nha Trang in central Khanh Hoa Province rounded off the top 10 list, released by the newspaper on Tuesday.

The Travel describes Hanoi as a "great place for a romantic trip, experiencing Vietnamese culture, learning about local history, and savoring delicious food."

The "thousands of years old" city boasts significant historical and cultural values that provide "everything a happy couple on honeymoon could ask for, from ancient temples to museums and shopping centers," it wrote.

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 Nha Trang is described as an ideal destination for newlyweds with "enthralling beaches, ancient temples, and remnants of the ancient Champa Kingdom."

Known for its long stretches of beautiful beaches and scuba diving, the town has been attracting large numbers of foreign tourists, especially Chinese and Russians in recent years.

El Nido on Palawan Island in the Philippines topped the list. The top 10 also features Thailand’s Chiang Mai, Indonesia’s Bali, Singapore, Japan’s Kyoto, Luang Prabang in Laos.

Hanoi made Time magazine’s list of ‘best destinations for every type of traveler’ in December last year.

The city, which hosted the historic second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in February, received 6 million foreign tourists in the first 11 months of this year, up 12 percent year-on-year.

Coastal Nha Trang in April ranked third among the top five Southeast Asian beach destinations favored by Chinese tourists in 2018, according to a report by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. China is Vietnam's top tourism feeder market.

 

VN Express

There’s never been so many tourists coming to #Singapore

It’s almost like a sequel to “Crazy Rich Asians.”

A year after the movie -- set in Singapore -- helped drive a record number of visitors to the city-state, the tourists are back again in full force, pushing arrivals to a new high in the third quarter.

About 5 million travelers came to the island between July and September, led by visitors from Greater China, which jumped 22%, according to data from Singapore Tourism Board’s website. The previous quarterly record was 4.83 million set in the same period a year earlier.

The surge in tourists also coincided with the reopening of the city’s grand dame, Raffles Hotel. The 132-year-old iconic hotel -- the birth place of the “Singapore Sling” -- opened after an extensive renovation.

Singapore, which competes with Hong Kong for conferences, is also benefitting from the North Asian city’s weekly pro-democracy protests that started in June. As the demonstrations turned increasingly violent, some conferences, such as the Global Wellness Summit, moved their events to the island republic.

The unrest in Hong Kong has prompted businesses to relocate events and major meetings to locations in Singapore as well as neighboring countries such as Thailand, according to hotel-industry billionaire William Heinecke.

The outlook for 2020 looks bright too with a robust line up of events such as Singapore Airshow, Food & Hotel Asia conference and Gamescom Asia, according to a report published by DBS Bank Ltd. in October.

Among the island’s biggest events in the third quarter was the Formula One night race in the city center, known for its line up of musical performances that included the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Gwen Stefani this year.

U2 also rocked Singapore for the first time this weekend. The band played the first of two shows on Saturday night to a packed crowd at the National Stadium, ripping through hits including “Where The Streets Have No Name” and “Vertigo.“ The gigs were part of the group’s Joshua Tree 2019 tour through Asia.

It’s a “sci-fi city,” frontman Bono told the crowd, pointing to the country’s diversity.

 

Source - TheJakartaPost

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

Thailand set to introduce “Double Tourist Visa”

A leading government figure has said that #Thailand is about to introduce a “Double Entry Tourism Visa”.

This will enable a visitor to go in and out of Thailand to neighboring countries such as Cambodia, Laos or Malaysia then return to Thailand to complete their holidays, Thai news site Post Today reported.

One media outlet even mentioned that a “multiple entry” visa was being considered.

Kobsak Pootrakul, deputy secretary general to the prime minister, told a conference that Thailand was considering a number of stimulus measures to help the tourism industry.

He said that the target was to get 42 million people visiting the kingdom next year.

Apparently 20 million did so in the first half of this year according to Kobsak.

The double entry visa would have a time limit though exactly how long this might be has not yet been announced.

Kobsak also mentioned the possibility of applying online.

Changes to the visa arrangements appear to be in the latter stages of discussion though no timeframe for their implementation has been announced as yet.

But there is one relative certainty – the border checkpoints for tourists at both Nong Khai and Sadao (the posts between Thailand and Laos and Thailand and Malaysia respectively) will be open 24 hours for a three month trial.

Kobsak said this would happen either at the end of this year or the beginning of next. Following the trial the numbers would be crunched to see if it is worth continuing.

In addition the number of VAT refund spots is being increased from the current five, he said along with plans to create walking streets at several popular tourist spots.

The Deputy Secretary General’s comments come just a day after reports that room occupancy and tourism was 20% down in Pattaya.

Source - BangkokJack