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Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It might be hard to imagine that the world's number one visited country has places that are still off the beaten track, but it does—places that the locals love. Then there are the places that have been revitalised, the too-cool-for-school destinations that need to be rethought. Here's the hit list for Provence 2022—the top two places that should be tacked onto an existing itinerary or worthy enough of planning a trip in its entirety. What's more, France's current travel restrictions are at their lightest since the pandemic began. Arles and its new Luma Foundation Arles is Provence’s 2022 capital of culture and one of the main reasons is LUMA —in addition to its Roman amphitheatre, medieval alleys and achingly hip world-renowned photography exhibitions between July and September during Les Rencontres de la Photographie . Luma is a new arts quarter packed with multimedia exhibitions and art … [Read more...] about France Travel: The Très Chic Provençal Hit List For 2022

India's Kashmir region is attracting record tourists after the easing of pandemic restrictions and some improvement in the security situation, bolstering local businesses. Tourist arrivals are set to touch a 10-year high this year after more than 340,000 tourists have come since January, local tour operators and government officials said, despite restrictions on foreign tourists and some recent incidents of violence. Tourism plunged in Kashmir after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration stripped the region of its special status and autonomy in 2019, and later as the Covid-19 pandemic cut domestic and foreign tourist inflows. “We are seeing the highest-ever tourist arrivals in Kashmir this year with 0.18 million tourists arriving in March only,” Sarmad Hafeez, Tourism Secretary for Jammu and Kashmir said, adding April arrivals could surpass March. Along with horticulture and agriculture, tourism is an important industry for Kashmir, contributing about 7% to its economy, … [Read more...] about Tourists flock to Kashmir’s lakes after pandemic restrictions ease

Willie Walsh - A + A KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said the delay in the aviation recovery in the Asia-Pacific region is because of governments' Covid-19 travel restrictions. The IATA also specified that the main gaps are China's zero-Covid approach and Japan's still unclear plan on the reopening of its borders. In a statement on Tuesday (May 17), IATA said the Asia-Pacific region's international passenger traffic largely hovered at below 10% for the past two years and stated that the demand in March merely reached 17% of pre-Covid-19 levels. "This is far below the global trend where markets have recovered to 60% of pre-crisis levels. The lag is because of government restrictions," IATA's director general Willie Walsh said. "The sooner they (Covid-19 restrictions) are lifted, the sooner we will see a recovery in the region's travel and tourism sector, and all the economic benefits that [it] will bring." He … [Read more...] about Delay in Asia-Pacific aviation recovery due to govt restrictions especially in China and Japan, says IATA

PETALING JAYA: Health protocols for flights must be consistent, simpler and predictable to ensure smooth and full recovery in the aviation industry, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong ( pic ). The Transport Minister said this includes allowing vaccinated individuals to travel without additional measures, avoid on-arrival testing, remove travel bans, use pre-departure antigen tests for non-vaccinated passengers, and immediately ease ongoing travel restrictions. Dr Wee said at present, recovery in air travel was slowly picking up around the world as many countries begin easing travel restrictions. "Countries that persist in attempting to lock-out the disease, risk missing out on the enormous economic and societal benefits that a restoration of international connectivity will bring. "Some key elements that affect and slow down the recovery rate includes quarantine requirements, testing requirements and visa/entry permit requirements for travellers," said Dr Wee during his opening … [Read more...] about Flight health protocols must be consistent, simpler to aid aviation recovery, says Dr Wee

Thailand registered 5,238 new Covid infections and 40 new Covid-related deaths over the last 24 hours, another day of drops in numbers since the Omicron variant hit its peak on April 1 with 28,379 infections in a 24 hour period. Yesterday there were 6,094 new infections and 51 deaths. But the number of deaths from Covid-19 has been stubbornly consistently over the past 11 days, floating in between 50 – 60 on each day. 3,445 positive ATK test need to be added from the past 24 hours as well, a number which is also dropping in proportion to the confirmed PCR testing numbers. 10,822 patients remain in Thai field hospitals or hospitel facilities and 30,722 in home or community isolation. Of those in hospital, 1,271 remain seriously ill and 613 are on ventilators. Of the 40 people who passed away in the last day, they were ranging in age from 38 to 100. Despite the quickly declining trend in Covid cases in Thailand, the country is still under an emergency decree which will last … [Read more...] about In Thailand, Covid numbers plummet, but restrictions remain

Thailand registered 5,238 new Covid infections and 40 new Covid-related deaths over the last 24 hours, another day of drops in numbers since the Omicron variant hit its peak on April 1 with 28,379 infections in a 24 hour period. Yesterday there were 6,094 new infections and 51 deaths. But the number of deaths from Covid-19 has been stubbornly consistently over the past 11 days, floating in between 50 – 60 on each day. 3,445 positive ATK test need to be added from the past 24 hours as well, a number which is also dropping in proportion to the confirmed PCR testing numbers. 10,822 patients remain in Thai field hospitals or hospitel facilities and 30,722 in home or community isolation. Of those in hospital, 1,271 remain seriously ill and 613 are on ventilators. Of the 40 people who passed away in the last day, they were ranging in age from 38 to 100. Despite the quickly declining trend in Covid cases in Thailand, the country is still under an emergency decree which will last … [Read more...] about In Thailand, Covid numbers plummet, but restrictions remain testing

PETALING JAYA: With restrictions easing, Malaysians will start travelling overseas in the next few months for various reasons. While many will start flying next month for their pilgrimage and business, industry leaders said more would do so for leisure beginning the third and fourth quarters of the year. “Many are getting their preparations done for their upcoming travel plans from June onwards,” said Malaysian Association Of Tour And Travel Agents (MATTA) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang. He said that state MATTA fairs were also coming up in June, July, and August due to the expected increase in demand. “Ever since the country’s borders reopened, people have been making bookings for overseas holidays. “We are in the second quarter now where the high demand for flight tickets is more for family gatherings, meeting relatives and friends and some social visits. “We will see more people travel for leisure towards the fourth quarter of the year,” he said. Some of the popular … [Read more...] about Getting the itch to travel again

JAKARTA (Bloomberg): Indonesia will make wearing masks outdoors optional and remove testing requirement for fully-vaccinated overseas travelLers as the local virus situation improves. Masks are still required for crowded outdoor areas, indoor activities and on public transport, President Joko Widodo said in a Tuesday speech. Those who are elderly, have underlying health conditions or symptoms of a cold are encouraged to still wear masks, he added. The decision comes after neighboUring Singapore ended most of its virus curbs and Malaysia also relaxed its mask mandate. Indonesia is set to keep its remaining virus restrictions until at least May 23, when the government will evaluate whether the rules are still needed. The curbs mostly set limits on capacity and opening hours. Indonesia will monitor whether cases start to pick up after more than 85 million people travelled across the country during the week-long Eid al-Fitr break in early May, as previous holiday periods have … [Read more...] about Indonesia relaxes mask mandates, scraps traveller testing rule

- A + A (May 18): A welcome revival in travel and cargo demand helped Singapore Airlines Ltd narrow losses in the second half of the fiscal year through March, though the high price of oil weighed on the carrier, its annual results showed. The airline’s net loss in the October-March period was S$125 million (US$90 million), it said in a statement Wednesday, compared with a loss of S$804 million a year earlier. Sales more than doubled in the six-month period to S$4.79 billion. Singapore started unraveling tight Covid-19 travel restrictions in September, allowing fully-vaccinated people from certain countries to enter without having to quarantine — a boost to the flag carrier, which had suffered record losses in the height of the pandemic. With Singapore further loosening curbs in April, quarantine-free entry is available for inoculated travelers from anywhere. “Key markets around the world have further eased travel restrictions, supporting a strong recovery in … [Read more...] about Singapore Airlines’ second-half loss narrows as travel picks up

Now that Thailand’s travel restrictions are easing, Phuket officials are on guard for an expected increase in demands for illegal drugs. This morning, a group of officials held a meeting at Phuket City Hall to discuss drug issues in the island province. The meeting was led by a director from the Region 8 Drug Enforcement Administration. Officials from other government agencies also attended. The officials noted that drug users and sellers consistently communicate with email, social media, and LINE, a chat app popular in Thailand. They also noted that parcels of narcotics sent to Phuket are usually hidden in coastal areas such as mangrove forests and fish cages. The officials said more intensive searches in these areas are needed. In addition, they said that more cooperation between the government and related networks is needed to monitor drug routes by land and water. The officials said airlines need tighter surveillance to prevent drug smuggling to Phuket. However, the group … [Read more...] about As travel opens, Phuket officials gather to fight drug problem