#Egypt upgrades visitor experience at Giza pyramids site

 

Egypt has unveiled new visitor facilities on the plateau outside Cairo where the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphinx are situated, the country's most visited heritage site and the sole remaining wonder of the ancient world.

Developers late on Tuesday night opened a new restaurant, 9 Pyramids Lounge, which covers an area of 1,341 square meters and overlooks the Giza pyramids. There will also be a fleet of new environmentally-friendly buses to guide tourists around the plateau.

"One of the problems always faced is that people say there are no special services for tourists, that there is no cafeteria, no restaurant, nothing that can be offered to visitors," said Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The new facilities are all easily taken part and reassembled so as to protect the antiquities and Waziri said the open-air restaurant offered "a panorama view that cannot be matched anywhere in the world".

Tourism accounts for up to 15 percent of Egypt's national output. However, officials have said previously the sector is losing around $1 billion each month after largely shutting down for several months from March due to the spread of coronavirus.

The changes at the plateau are part of wider efforts to develop key tourist sites in the country. Next year the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is set to be the world's largest archaeological museum, is due to open just beyond the Giza Pyramids.

Egyptian business tycoon Naguib Sawiris, the plateau's main developer, said the 301 million Egyptian pound ($19.23 million)project is part of a greater plan to develop the UNESCO world heritage site and streamline tourists' experience.

"We will organize the salespeople," said Sawiris. "We will not deprive them of their income but we will put them into suitable, nice places."

Source - TheJakartaPost

Thailand to slowly restart tourism with flight from China

 

Thailand will receive its first foreign vacationers when a flight from China arrives next week, marking the gradual restart of a vital tourism sector battered by corona-virus travel curbs, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The first flight will have about 120 tourists from Guangzhou, flying directly to the resort island of Phuket, Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn told Reuters.

Thailand has kept coronavirus infections low with just 3,559 cases and 59 deaths, but its economy has taken a hit from a ban on foreign visitors since April and is expected to contract 8.5% this year.

Government spokeswoman Traisulee Traisoranakul expects 1,200 tourists in the first month, generating about 1 billion baht ($31.55 million) in revenue and 12.4 billion baht over one year, drawing in 14,400 tourists.

Nationalities permitted to enter will be from countries deemed low risk by the government, which will keep tabs on them.

"We are not opening the country, we are limiting the number of entries and will manage with wrist bands, apps to follow them," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters.

The government predicts just 6.7 million foreign visitors this year after a record 39.8 million in 2019, whose spending made up about 11.4 percent of GDP, or 1.93 trillion baht.

Thailand in January was the first country outside of China to detect the coronavirus, in a visitor from Wuhan.

"Tourists will be on a long stay visa, starting Oct. 8 and will stay in alternative state quarantine for 14 days," Yuthasak said.

Visitors need health insurance and a negative coronavirus test 72 hours before traveling and will be tested twice in quarantine.

"Thailand's protection system can prevent a second wave," government spokeswoman Traisulee said.

"We have prevented local transmission for 100 days before," she said, adding that had made Thailand attractive for visitors wanting to avoid infections.

Source - TheJakartaPost

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