Tourism recovery could take three to five years: Singapore Tourism Board chief

 

The tourism industry must be prepared for a long winter as international travel could take three to five years to return to pre-pandemic levels, even if a vaccine for the corona-virus is developed soon.

But businesses cannot go into hibernation mode if Singapore is to come roaring back as a top destination for high-value tourists when the situation begins to normalize.

This was the stark message from Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) chief executive Keith Tan to industry members at a virtual roundtable session Thursday.

Echoing the bleak outlook, Association of Singapore Attractions (ASA) chairman Kevin Cheong urged operators that are barely hanging on to cut their losses.

"If you think the light at the end of the tunnel is around the corner, this is not a corner. It is a huge turnpike," said Cheong.

Tan said the Government will do its best to aid the industry, such as by stimulating local demand. He also urged firms to develop offerings that can help differentiate Singapore as a travel destination, saying that support will be available to sustain these capabilities.

"We need to be prepared for travelers who are looking for more exclusive, smaller-scale or special experiences that are hard to find elsewhere because we believe that in the years after COVID-19, people will not be traveling so frequently," he said.

Businesses will have to be creative in coming up with new revenue streams in the interim, and some may have to reposition or pivot their business to survive, he noted.

During the two-hour session, industry leaders across sectors such as hotels, retail and attractions spoke about the challenges they face amid the tourist drought and safe distancing restrictions, as well as the need to collaborate and to improve service levels.

Sustained border closures have put the hotel industry here in a "critical financial crisis" as international tourism contributes to about 90 per cent of revenue, said Margaret Heng, executive director of the Singapore Hotel Association.

While the pandemic has hastened the adoption of contactless guest touch-points and online shopping, the personal touch will remain key for the hospitality and retail industries, panelists said.

Better service in stores is also needed if retailers are to give shoppers incentive to visit bricks-and-mortar outlets, said Singapore Retailers Association executive director Rose Tong. "If a shopper steps into the store and is not well treated and not served, then they might as well shop online," she said.

Retail staff should thus be trained in conversational and soft skills to better engage customers, Tong said.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Up to 150,000 foreigners in Thailand face jail for overstaying visas as govt ends Covid-19 grace period

 

Tens of thousands of foreign nationals in Thailand risk fines and even prison for failing to renew their visas. Bangkok has been lenient about expired visas due to the corona-virus crisis but announced it will start cracking down.

Foreigners in the country will have until September 26 to make sure their visas are up-to-date, a spokesperson for Thailand’s Immigration Bureau said. Overstaying a tourist visa in the country could result in jail time and a fine. Offenders are also deported back to their home countries. There are currently more than 150,000 foreigners staying in Thailand on tourist visas, the bureau said.

Countless foreign travelers were stranded in Thailand when the corona-virus pandemic hit in March. As the health crisis halted international flights and sealed borders, Bangkok said it would not take action against individuals with expired visas. But with things opening back up, the government has decided to resume normal enforcement of immigration laws. Those with expired visas will incur a daily fine for not coming forward, as authorities use registration databases to track down unwanted guests in the country.

The crackdown comes as Thailand moves to re-open its tourist industry. Last week the country’s cabinet approved visas of up to 270 days for long-stay tourists. The government hopes to attract visitors starting in October, but only people from countries that have contained the corona-virus outbreak will be welcome. Travelers will also be encouraged to fly directly to Thailand and will be required to undergo a two-week quarantine upon arrival. 

Source - Pattaya News

All Travelers to Thailand Require Mandatory Health Insurance

  

 A consortium of 16 health insurance companies in Thailand are now offering all travellers to Thailand travellers the mandatory insurance cover valued at USD100,000.

Thailand’s Office of Insurance confirmed last week that it has set up a consortium of insurance companies offering Covid-19 insurance online. Above all as the country prepares to reopen its borders to travelers.

Once the country reopens all foreigners entering Thailand will need to buy Covid-19 insurance. But until the door reopens the scheme will make it easier for foreigners who are currently eligible to travel to Thailand to acquire the mandatory insurance cover online.

In addition to having insurance cover, travelers need to provide the nearest Thai embassy with a Fit to Fly Health Certificate and a negative  RT-PCR swab test valid within 72 hours of the flight departing for Thailand. They are issued with a certificate of entry when they have fulfilled all the conditions and have a confirmed flight date.
Covid-19 insurance policy covers both deaths due to the disease

They must also have an appropriate visa that fits the approved category of travel. Tourist visas for leisure travel are not being issued. The Covid-19 insurance policy covers both deaths due to the disease as well as medical expenses for those undergoing treatment.

In case of death caused by the Covid-19, the policy pays for funeral expenses and the repatriation of the corpse or ashes to the country of origin. The maximum payout is THB3.2 million.

For medical expenses linked to the treatment of Covid-19, including the period of hospitalization (inpatient or outpatient). The maximum payout is  THB3.2 million.

Foreigners who buy insurance cover as part of the requirements to fulfill conditions to travel to Thailand must pay the insurance premium according to the period of their stay from 30 days to a maximum of one year.

The premium is set against benchmarks that identify the Covid-19 risk in the country of origin; the lower the risk, the lower the premium.

Insurance premium cover starts at THB1,600  and can be as high as THB14,400 for low-risk countries. Foreigners from countries with moderate risk are likely to pay an insurance premium of between THB2,560  to THB23,040. If the traveller is from a high-risk country, the insurance premium could be as high as THB43,200.

Insurance companies participating in the scheme include:

Assets Insurance Co Ltd (Thailand); Chubb Insurance Company Limited ( Thailand ); Navakij Insurance Co Ltd;  Pacific Cross Health Insurance, Thailand );  Falcon Insurance Co Ltd (Thailand ); East Insurance, Asia Insurance 1950; Bangkok Life Assurance Ltd; Thailand Life Insurance; and also Thailand Life Insurance.

“Development of an insurance policy that provides protection for foreigners entering Thailand supports government policy and will help restore the economy of the country,” said the OIC secretary-general.

Source: TTR Weekly

Resumption of tourism between China and Thailand 'not happening any time soon'

  

 Resumption of tourism between China and Thailand 'not happening any time soon'

A senior official of the Chinese embassy in Bangkok has ruled out early reopening of tourism between China and Thailand, as the two countries are not ready to open the sector.

China has been recently reopening for domestic tourism, but has not yet welcomed foreign tourists, or urged Chinese people to travel abroad, said Yang Xin, minister counsellor and deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Thailand.

Even Chinese tourists want to visit Thailand, but Thailand is unlikely to open for foreign tourists, he said in an exclusive interview to Nation Multimedia Group.

The Thai government has not yet reopened the tourism sector, as it was still worried about potential import of new COVID-19 cases. The government only plans to allow first 200 long-stay tourists to enter the country next month. About 10 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand annually in recent years out of some 40 million every year.

Yang said that China was currently reopening travel for business persons who could apply for fast lane clearance when they enter China for doing business. Foreign business persons are not subject to 14-day quarantine but they can visit only limited places essential for their business activities.

He said the Chinese government has managed to control the COVID-19 outbreak and now schools nationwide have been reopened after they were closed for eight months.

China this year has not set a target for economic growth but would focus on job creation and people's living standards, he said.

The government has implemented many stimulus packages to support people and businesses especially small and medium-sized enterprises, said Yang.

Regarding Hong Kong, Yang said that the special administrative region had returned to stability following the enforcing of the security law. He reiterated that China wants to maintain the one country, two systems principle,  but foreign interference was trying to create a two-country system.

As for the Thai government’s decision to defer the purchase of two more China-made submarines, Yang said the ties between the two countries has deepened and widened to many areas. He added that officials from both sides are working closely together on the submarine deal and will continue doing so.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Thailand bets on prisons to boost tourism

  

 Thailand plans to turn about half its prisons into tourist attractions to boost visitor numbers as the Southeast Asian nation struggles to recover from an economic slump caused by the corona-virus outbreak.

Sporting events, art exhibitions, cooking contests and souvenirs made by inmates will be rolled out in 72 of the country's 143 prisons, Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said this week.

A pilot scheme is being tested in five prisons, including those in the cities of Trat, Rayong and Ratchaburi, he said.

This would not only bring much-needed visitors, but also prepare inmates for a "normal life in society" and change the image of prisons from being "a twilight world to a world of opportunities", he added.

The concept of prison tourism is not new. From tours of Alcatraz in San Francisco to the notorious Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi that is now a museum, prisons are major attractions worldwide.

Some defunct prisons have even been converted into luxury hotels, while a women's jail in Colombia has a restaurant run by inmates, and a Singapore prison hosts an annual charitable run.

But luring tourists without addressing fundamental concerns about Thailand's prison system, including overcrowding and the large number of women inmates, is "not acceptable", said Debbie Stothard, founder of Altsean, a human rights network.

"It's a good idea if it's meant to give prisoners more skills and help them integrate into society," said Stothard.

"But it has to be part of a broader rights-based approach to reform the system," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Thursday.

Thailand has the largest prison population in Southeast Asia, and inmates have limited access to medical facilities, food, water and sanitation, according to a 2017 report by the International Federation for Human Rights.

A 2017 law was aimed at improving prison conditions, and Thailand's Justice Ministry has vowed to ease overcrowding, as well as provide vocational training for prisoners.

The tourism project is a part of this plan, Somsak said.

Thailand's tourism-dependent economy has taken a hit from the corona-virus, with only about 8 million visitors expected this year, a fifth of last year's total.

But driving visitors to correctional facilities is not the answer, even though Thailand has successfully turned the islands of Koh Tao and Koh Tarutao - which were once prisons - into popular tourist spots, said Stuart McDonald, co-founder of website Travelfish.

"It raises significant concerns around the sensitivity of what is made available to the public, and how the rights and privacy of prisoners would be protected — for instance, would they have a choice not to participate?" he said.

"Prisons should be working to rehabilitate prisoners regardless of any possible tourism appeal wrapped up in the process."

Source - TheJakartaPost

Tourists flock to Bali after ban lifted

Tourism in Bali has seen a surge after local authorities opened the resort island to tourists in late July.

According to Bali Tourism Agency head Putu Astawa, the number of domestic arrivals increased up to 17 percent at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar. However, Putu said he doubted that tourism on the island would be back to its previous state in the near future.

“If we expect that it will be normal just like before [the pandemic], I think it won’t happen. Those who want to go on holiday need to have money, but many people lost their jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.   According to Putu, as many as 2,128 people arrived in Bali through Ngurah Rai airport on July 31, and 2,419 more people arrived the next day.

Putu asserted that it was essential that health protocols were obeyed. "Both the economy and health are equally important. Before any vaccine is developed, enforced health protocols are the only way the public can keep going with their activities."

He added that the classic Bali destinations such as Tanah Lot and Pandawa Beach were still popular among tourists.

Tanah Lot operational manager I Ketut Toya Adnyana said around 3,265 tourists flocked to the site on July 31. Of that number, only 94 foreigners were present.

Other destinations that have also seen an increase in their visitor numbers are Lake Batur in Kintamani and Bali Botanical Garden.

Source - The Jakarta Post

#Thailand - Nearly one-third of tourism-related businesses ‘may shut down permanently’

About one-third of tourism business operators in Thailand will run out of liquidity to keep their businesses afloat in the second half of 2020, Tourism Council of Thailand president Chairat Trirattanajarasporn has warned.

“The impact of Covid-19 will become most serious in the third quarter this year after many operators had tried to cut costs by letting some of their employees go, but after more than a million positions cut the situation still hasn’t improved, as no foreign tourists are allowed into the country yet,” he said.

“The council estimates that in the next three months up to 30 per cent of tourism-related businesses in Thailand are at risk of shutting down permanently.”

Chairat added that some operators are starting to sell their establishments, such as hotels, resorts, restaurants and gift shops to investors who wish to turn them into other business. “However, since the real estate business is also affected by the economic crisis, the hope of selling their properties is still bleak for these owners,” he added.

“The council had a meeting with Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday (July 10) and proposed five measures to help tourism business operators,” said Chairat. “These measures are: providing soft loans to tourism entrepreneurs; considering moving the schedule up to open the country to foreign tourists under a practice similar to the travel bubble scheme; offering discount on electricity bills, one of the main costs of hotel operators; having the Social Security Office extend the compensation payment to temporarily unemployed staff from June to December, and reducing the employer’s contribution to Social Security Fund from 4 percent to 1 percent.”

Chairat also added that the Tourism Council of Thailand has predicted the income from foreign tourists in 2020 will drop significantly from Bt2.2 trillion last year to only around Bt600 billion.

Source - Pattaya One News