Category: Asia

Hanoi province of Vietnam has hosted a vintage car show on Friday, exhibiting classic vehicles owned by Chinese people, which would help bolster multi-faceted cooperation between China and Vietnam, officials from the two countries said. The show has been hosted by the Forein Affairs Office, conducted by Hong Kong’s Xinhua Finance Agency, coordinated by the Classic Car Club of Hong Kong, supported by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and sponsored by Yunnan Energy Investment Logistics Company. “The exhibition and parade of vintage cars will contribute to closer trade and economic exchanges as well as win-win cooperation between ... Read more

Tachuan Village in the city of Huangshan, East China’s Anhui Province has been one of the sought after place for photography enthusiasts recently. With late autumn approaching, numerous domestic and foreign photographers and tourists are flocking to village to photograph the colorful autumn scenery. “I heard the red autumn leaves here are perfect for shooting,” Ren Jinlong, a photography enthusiast from the city of Wuhu, Anhui Province has tried several spots to take the best panoramic photos above Tachuan Village. In recent years, Yi County has been implementing favorable measures to develop a new model of rural tourism with photography. ... Read more

Osaka, Japan As part of the efforts to increase the inflow of tourists from Southeast Asia, Tourism Bureau in Osaka has partnered with private company JCB, one of the original credit card companies in Japan. Despite the fact that the number of foreign tourists coming to Osaka, the merchant town; the Tourism Bureau have been in the process of a number of initiatives to attract more tourists, especially from Thailand. “We would like to offer the campaign called ‘Otoku Osaka’ till the end of March next year, and to convey the appeal of Osaka to Thai members. JCB has many ... Read more

Despite some 4.6 million visitor arrivals, Singapore tourism sector recorded a drop in overall spending in the second quarter of the year by 1.7 per cent to USD 6.6 billion, compared with the same period last year. It was revealed by the quarterly report by Singapore Tourism Board (STB) The dip in tourism spending was attributed to lower spending in areas like shopping, 22 per cent less and food and beverage, 15 per cent less, and in sightseeing, entertainment and gaming, 2 per cent less. However, tourism spending grew for accommodation (6 per cent) and a miscellaneous category that includes ... Read more

In an effort to boost tourism in the country, Vietnam plans to host a Formula One race in 2020 in Hanoi. The race will be 5.565-kilometer street circuit and the event is expected to be in April 2020. It was announced by Vingroup JSC, who signed a multi-year deal to host the Grand Prix. With the event, Vietnam government envisions to woo more foreign tourists to the country to reduce its dependency on export to strengthen the economy. It is expected that the number of tourists to increase by 30 per cent by the end of 2018, counting around 16 million ... Read more

Thailand’s cabinet approved a measure to waive for two months fees paid by visitors for visas on arrival, with an objective to boost tourism, which was hit by a drop in visitors from China, its biggest market. The fee of 2,000 baht (USD 60) will be waived between December 1 and January 31 for travellers from 21 countries, including China, Taiwan, India and Saudi Arabia, government spokesman Puttiphong Punnakan told the media. The scheme is expected to increase tourist numbers by at least 30 per cent during the period, he said. In September, overall tourist arrivals rose just 2.1 per ... Read more

Belitung in Bangka Belitung Islands province is a suitable site for nomadic tourism, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya has said. “Belitung is a suitable destination to develop nomadic tourism,” Arief said in Belitung recently, as per local media. Arief said developing a special economic zone such as in Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara would take too much time; meanwhile Belitung Island would be a good location to promote nomadic tourism. “I’m optimistic that the nomadic tourism concept could be a permanent solution for Belitung,” Arief said. Nomadic tourism consists of activities or businesses related to the lifestyle and culture of moving ... Read more

Those who are longing to go to Boracay Island, after six long months’ closure for rehabilitation due to environmental reasons last April 26, 2018; should take note of some things they can and cannot do in the island. Boracay Island has reopened on October 26 after spending millions of pesos to rehabilitate the island. In order to conserve the island’s environment and natural habitat, Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) composed of agencies to include the DENR, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Department of Tourism (DOT), has set the guidelines to be followed by visitors ... Read more

  Pansy Ho, group executive chairman and managing director of Shun Tak Holdings, and co-chairperson and executive director of MGM China Holdings, has been appointed by the United Nation’s World Tourism Organisation as a Tourism Ambassador, on making her the first ever ambassador in the region. Ho will be promoting global tourism development alongside other appointed Tourism Ambassadors, in her role as UNWTO Tourism Ambassador. Ho has been given the title for her contributions in promoting regional and global tourism cooperation and sustainable tourism. She currently oversees the Global Tourism Economy Research Center, which was created in 2011. She is ... Read more

Somkid Jatusripitak, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand said on Saturday, 27th October 2018 that new measures will be announced next month to lure tourists back to the country, especially those from China. Somkid said measures in the package would include a tax measure for jewellery purchases, a tourism package with free flights to second-tier tourist provinces and a waiver fee for visa-on-arrival. “The cabinet to approve a stimulus package in the second half of November. It would be effective until the end of December,” said Somkid. “The measures would involve the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Finance Ministry and Thai ... Read more

Tianjin, China China Ministry tor Culture and Tourism to conduct the 10th China Tourism Industries Expo in Tianjin from 9th to 11th November 2018 As per an official from the Tianjin Tourism Bureau, the expo, which is jointly hosted by the ministry and Tianjin Municipal People’s Government, is expected to attract more than 700 companies and nearly 300,000 visitors. The expo consists of seven themed sections showcasing tourism products of different categories, most notably the ones involving countries along the Belt and Road. Several seminars on topics covering the innovative development of city tourism, and Internet and big data, will ... Read more

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Emirates Airlines of UAE has signed MoU with Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam to boost tourism and trade. The agreement was inked during the visit of Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, to UAE with a delegation. Emirates Airlines signed three MoUs to facilitate tourism and trade in Vietnam’s largest and most visited city, stated the Dubai government-controlled airline. “Vietnam is a very important destination within Emirates’ network,” said Badr Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for the Far East Emirates Headquarters “Since we launched ... Read more

Design of Kampot International Tourism Port, Cambodia Cambodia and Thailand have inked an agreement to cooperate on marine tourism, linking the tourism ports of the two countries. The agreement has come in to being during the 4th meeting of Cambodia-Thailand Working Group on Tourism Cooperation. Thong Rathsak, Cambodia’s Director General of Tourism Development and International Cooperation and Arrun Boonchai ,Thai Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Tourism and Sports co-chaired the meeting. As per the agreement, both countries will cooperate on marine tourism linking Koh Samui of Surathany province, Thailand to the International Tourism Port of Kampot province. Koh Samui Port, ... Read more

Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya says growth in the Indonesian tourist industry may excel that of Thailand within the next five years. “We can beat ‘Amazing Thailand’ and ‘Malaysia Truly Asia within about five years’,” said Arief in a discussion at the State Secretariat in Jakarta. “In 2014, Indonesia ranked 70th in the world tourist Industry, but leaped to the 20th spot in 2017,” he added. Indonesia has hosted around 14 million foreign tourists in 2017, adding to the state revenue around USD 15.2 billion; while Thailand had 35 million foreign tourists in the same year with total revenue of ... Read more

The special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong experience the highest international visitor spending, according to highlights of a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) annual City Travel & Tourism Impact Report on Monday. The report noted that Macau has the highest foreign tourists spending making up 97.3 per cent of tourism gross domestic product (GDP) at USD 35.6 billion. Tourists from the China mainland are also considered as foreign tourists in this report. In 2017, a total USD 14.3 billion of tourism GDP was generated in Macau, placing it among the top 20 in terms ... Read more