Hong Kong’s leader announced a cut in liquor taxes on Wednesday, in a bid to revive the Asian financial hub’s reputation as a travel destination with a vibrant nightlife and dining scene. After fulfilling Beijing’s long-standing imperative to enact a homegrown national security law, which has furthered concerns about the curtailing of civil liberties in the city, Chief Executive John Lee now faces challenges with economic competitiveness against regional rivals like Singapore, Japan and mainland Chinese metropolises. Changes in residents’ lifestyles and a wave of middle-class emigration during the COVID-19 pandemic have dampened local spending. Many residents now prefer to spend their weekends in mainland China, attracted by its lower prices and a wider variety of entertainment ...
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Thailand will allow night clubs and karaoke bars to resume regular hours starting in June, a senior official said on Friday, dropping most of its remaining pandemic restrictions as daily infections decline. Thailand's nightlife is a major attraction for tourists, but most entertainment venues have been shuttered or faced a strict curfew since the pandemic began, with some bars forced to convert to restaurants to stay in business. The government hopes the latest easing of restrictions will help revive the Southeast Asian country's battered tourism sector, a key growth engine that accounted for about 12% of the economy before the pandemic. Thailand is targeting 5 to 15 million arrivals this year. FILE PHOTO: Tourists sit in a cafe at Khaosan Road, one of the favourite tourist spots...
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