Today South Africa has reopened to select international visitors again following an announcement by the government two weeks ago that the country will open up to tourism as per October 1, 2020.
This came despite voices earlier in spring that it would take at least until 2021 for the country to open up again but South Africa has been suffering from the loss of all tourism revenue which is usually a substantial part of it’s GDP and there was lots of pressure to start opening the country up again.
The government of the Maldives has announced that it will roll out a loyalty program of sorts that will reward travelers for the frequency of traveling to the island nation.
While there have been no details about the actual benefits revealed yet the website says there will be three levels of membership and the points are accumulated based on the number of arrivals.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is set to open a new pre-clearance facility at Brussels airport after a signing ceremony yesterday.
Following the model in Canada and the Caribbean there have been additional overseas pre-clearance facilities opened in Dublin as well as UAE’s Abu Dhabi airport where all passengers leaving for the U.S. will be processed and then arrive in the U.S. like domestic passengers.
The Thai Government has made their first permanent decision to introduce measures in opening up the countries tourism sector again with the cabinet approving special tourist visas that are valid for 90 days and extendable twice.
Interested parties who are currently abroad and wish to apply for this visa can now contact the relevant entity in Thailand to signal their intentions and kick off the application process.
Thailand had a very generous visa amnesty for foreigners in place that saw themselves unable to return to their home countries due to lack of flight options or deteriorating COVID situations back home.
This amnesty is now about to run out on Saturday, September 26th and in the last couple of days both Thai Immigration as well as the embassies in Bangkok have been telling foreigners it’s time to prepare for their departure or avail themselves to a visa extension if eligible.
The elderly Chairman of Changi Airport Group had to resign from his post after the Singapore High Court acquitted a former maid of the 74 year-old of theft charges while raising serious doubts about the police report he filed about her.
The Indonesian maid threatened her employers, the family of Mr Liew Mun Leong, with filing a complaint with the Ministry of Manpower back in 2016 for breach of her employment contract which they pre-empted by lodging a criminal complaint against her.
In a surprise move South Africa’s government has announced that the country will open up to tourism again as per October 1, 2020 despite voices earlier in spring that it would take at least until 2021.
South Africa is just one of the countries that is suffering from the loss of all tourism revenue which is usually a substantial part of it’s GDP and there is lots of pressure to start opening the country up again.
The Thai Government has made their first permanent decision to introduce measures in opening up the countries tourism sector again with the cabinet approving special tourist visas that are valid for 90 days and extendable twice.
There are a bunch of strings attached to this visa such as prepaid accommodation for the first three months, the obligatory and costly 14 day quarantine post arrival as well as a chartered or private flight among other hurdles.
According to the CBC the Canada / U.S. border will remain closed to non-essential travel for yet another month, extending the current measures through at least October 21, 2020.
Most foreign visitors are still not allowed to enter Canada and a 14-day quarantine requirement is imposed for those that do, including Canadian citizens.
The Deputy Chief of Mission of the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok has ruled out that there will be a reopening of the tourism sector between the two countries anytime soon, sending a sign to the local industry that at least this revenue source will remain off limits for the foreseeable future.
While China is slowly opening up to foreign expats there are no tourist visas issues and visitors for tourism purposes are currently not let into the country, pretty much the same as Thailand.
Thailand had planned to re-open their tourism industry under a project they named “Safe & Seal” from October 1, 2020 starting with Phuket but these plans have now (once again) been scrapped as we expected.
A recent virus scare of one person in Bangkok has renewed concerns in Thailand if this plan is really a good idea and likely used as an excuse to postpone the Phuket project which was destined to fail from the beginning.
Las Vegas has been on the forefront of reopening it’s economy to the public, first the casinos and then the dining options including – to a limited degree – buffets!
Now it appears that buffets are shutting down again and one of the first major resorts that has decided to scrap it is Wynn Las Vegas.
Starting next week those foreigners who are officially residing in Japan can finally travel back to Japan, respectively leave the country and come back at a later point after some changes instituted by the government.
Foreign residents will be required to undergo coronavirus testing upon entry and observe a 14-day quarantine period, the same conditions apply to Japanese citizens arriving from abroad.
The never ending saga about when Thailand is opening it’s borders and tourism sector again to restart the ailing economy is going into yet another chapter as the Prime Minister gave public support for new plans.
According to various news reports the country could welcome tourists as soon as November but under condition that sound more like a boot camp rather than a holiday.
