international tourists – आवारा मुसाफिर

Hong Kong woos tourists with air tickets and vouchers

February 2, 2023729 Views

Hong Kong will give away air tickets and vouchers to woo tourists back to the international financial hub, racing to catch up with other popular travel destinations in a fierce regional competition. During the pandemic, the city largely aligned itself with mainland China’s “zero-COVID” strategy and has relaxed its entry rules months slower than rivals such as Singapore, Japan and Taiwan. Even after it reopened its border with mainland China in January, tourism recovery was sluggish. Dancers perform at a kickoff event for Hong Kong's tourism campaign "Hello Hong Kong" in Hong Kong, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Kanis Leung) On Thursday, Chief Executive John Lee launched a tourism campaign “Hello Hong Kong,” saying the city will offer 500,000 free air tickets to welcome tourist...

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Few tourists, deserted streets in casino hub Macau after reopening

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 30, 2022864 Views

Three years of COVID-19 forced Becky Zhang’s specialty food business in Macau to near collapse. Founded by her grandmother more than fifty years ago, her store selling pastries and dried beef only survived thanks to residents who bought small quantities to help keep them afloat. Now, even after the recent reopening of the world’s biggest gambling hub, tourists are few and many businesses are shuttered, underlining analysts' views that a recovery will be uneven and take some time. People wearing face masks walk under neon lights near casinos during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Macau, China, December 29, 2022. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu “Macau has not seen any improvement after the recent reopening of the city because many people are infected with COVID, many shops are un...

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Taiwan welcomes back tourists after ending COVID quarantine rules

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

October 13, 2022737 Views

Taiwan began welcoming back visitors on Thursday after finally ending mandatory quarantines to control the spread of COVID-19, with gifts of cuddly toy black bears for the first tour group that stepped off the plane shortly after midnight. Taiwan had kept some of its entry and quarantine rules in place as large parts of the rest of Asia relaxed or lifted them completely, although in June it cut the number of days required in isolation for arrivals to three from seven previously. Travellers from Thailand on the first quarantine-free flight to Taiwan, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, receive a welcome by officials and the media at the airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan, October 13, 2022. REUTERS/Ann Wang While Taiwan has reported almost seven million domestic cases since t...

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Visitors trickle back, but Nepal seeks more in the season

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

April 28, 2022237 Views

Nepal is putting a 21st-century spin on a tourism sector dominated by activities unchanged for generations as it looks to boost a vital part of an economy decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring import bills. As part of broader plans to lure more tourists to the home of eight of the world's 14 highest peaks, authorities are promoting bungee jumping, paragliding and sky diving on top of traditional trekking and climbing, said Taranath Adhikari, director general at the Department of Tourism. A foreign tourist takes pictures in front of the Nyatapola Temple in Bhaktapur, Nepal, April 24, 2022. REUTERS/Monika Deupala "We are adding new tourism infrastructure and investment in hotels is (also) rising," he told Reuters in the capital Kathmandu. The country has additionally ca...

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Philippines to reopen in February to vaccinated foreign tourists

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

January 28, 2022648 Views

The Philippines will grant entry to visitors vaccinated against COVID-19 from Feb. 10, its government said on Friday, in an effort to boost a tourism sector decimated by the pandemic. The archipelago nation of more than 7,000 islands had planned to reopen in December, but that was aborted over concerns about the Omicron variant. FILE PHOTO: A couple enjoys a view of White Beach amid the coranavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Boracay Island, Aklan province, Philippines, November 29, 2021. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez Citizens of 150 countries that have visa-free entry to the Philippines will be allowed to enter. "(This) will contribute significantly to job restoration, primarily in tourism-dependent communities, and in the reopening of businesses that have earlier shut down," Tour...

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Malaysia to reopen to international visitors by Jan 1

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

November 11, 2021571 Views

Malaysia will reopen its borders to international visitors by Jan. 1 at the latest, a government advisory council said on Thursday, as the country seeks to revive its ailing tourism sector. The Southeast Asian country has gradually reopened its economy in recent weeks as coronavirus infection rates have slowed amid a ramped-up vaccination programme. More than three-quarters of Malaysia's 32 million population are vaccinated, government statistics show. FILE PHOTO: A tourist scans a QR code to check in upon arriving at the airport as Langkawi reopens to domestic tourists, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Malaysia September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who chairs a council tasked with spearheading Malaysia's economic ...

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Malaysia lifts travel restrictions for fully vaccinated people

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

October 10, 2021714 Views

Malaysia on Sunday lifted interstate and international travel restrictions for residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as the country achieved its target of inoculating 90% of its adult population. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government has agreed to allow fully vaccinated Malaysians to travel overseas without applying for permission. The new rules take effect on Monday. FILE PHOTO: Tourists arrive at the airport as Langkawi reopens to domestic tourists, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Malaysia September 16, 2021. REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng The government is preparing to shift into an endemic COVID-19 phase where it will not impose wide lockdowns again if cases rise, Ismail Sabri told a news conference. "We have to train ourselves to liv...

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Britain mulls easing travel rules for England

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

September 17, 2021850 Views

The British government will on Friday consider easing England’s COVID-19 rules for international travel, a late-season boost for airlines, holiday and tourism companies which say they will not survive another winter of onerous rules and red tape. While Europe has relaxed travel restrictions for the fully vaccinated, expensive COVID-19 testing requirements remain in place for fully vaccinated arrivals into Britain, preventing a travel recovery as the tougher winter period nears. FILE PHOTO: A worker sanitises a sign at the International arrivals area of Terminal 5 in London's Heathrow Airport, Britain, August 2, 2021. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls But rule changes could be announced later on Friday, Agriculture Secretary George Eustice said, following hints from Prime Minister Boris John...

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Langkawi readies for reopening with tourism bubble

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

September 14, 2021368 Views

Businesses at Malaysia's prime holiday destination are gearing up to welcome the return of tourists this week, as the country takes an early step towards recovery from a devastating coronavirus crisis. Langkawi, a cluster of 99 islands in the Straits of Malacca, will reopen from Sept. 16 to fully vaccinated travellers as part of a domestic tourism bubble, with strict protocols in place to thwart the spread of the coronavirus. Restaurant owner Esther Lee said she was excited the bubble was finally being launched. "Finally we can welcome customers and this is actually our main source of income to actually survive," she said. "We have like staff under us, we have overhead costs to bear so we definitely need dining customers." The plan is similar to that introduced in Thail...

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Jordan sees hopes of tourism revival

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

July 12, 20211475 Views

Hoping for customers, Ahmad Nassar is dusting and polishing the trinkets and souvenirs in his tourist shop in Madaba, an ancient town in central Jordan known for its early Christian mosaics. The coronavirus pandemic has been a disaster for Jordan's tourism industry and for its economy as a whole, which suffered its worst contraction in decades last year. "I felt despair, there was no income, no work, there was no support for shop owners," Nassar said. Tourists walk along the Siq in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan July 2, 2021. REUTERS/Muath Freij Now foreign tourists are starting to trickle back, and the situation is looking more hopeful, he said. The European Union last week included Jordan among a dozen new epidemiologically safe countries as of July 1, and government e...