Foreign travel warnings

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia recorded 160,280 foreign tourist arrivals in June, down 2.06 percent from the previous month and representing a drop of 88.82 percent as compared to the same month last year, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the local tourism sector, BPS chief Suhariyanto said during a virtual press conference on August 3. The number of foreign tourists arriving in Indonesia totalled 3.09 million in the first half of this year, a 59.96 percent decrease from 7.72 million registered in the corresponding period last year, he said. With most domestic and international travel having ceased, the occupancy rate of star hotels across the island country remained low at 19.7 percent in June, a drop of 32.57 percentage points from a year earlier and 5.25 percentage points from May. The pandemic has wiped out around 85 trillion rupiah (5.87 billion USD) of Indonesia’s tourism revenue this year. The hotel … [Read more...] about Foreign tourist arrivals to Indonesia plunge in June

Also according to the World Bank’s report, although the Vietnamese economy suffered from COVID-19 in the first half of 2020, prospects remain positive for both the short and medium term. If the world situation gradually improves, economic activity should rebound in the second semester of 2020 such that the economy will grow by around 2.8 percent for the entire year, and by 6.8 percent in 2021. With less favourable external conditions, the economy will expand by only 1.5% in 2020 and 4.5% in 2021. … [Read more...] about VIETNAM’S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 5

Hanoi (VNA) – More than 27 million people in the Philippines' main island of Luzon, including the capital Manila, went back to a partial lockdown for weeks from August 4. People have been told to stay home unless they need to go out for essential goods, exercise or work since the Philippines has emerged as a new coronavirus hotspot in Asia with the number of recorded infections surging past 100,000. With only 24 hours' notice of the shutdown, many found themselves stranded in Manila and unable to get back to their hometowns after public transport and domestic flights were halted. Commuter trains, buses and other public vehicles stayed off the main roads in the Philippine and police were again staffing checkpoints to restrict public travel. The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that goverments and citizens should focus on what are known to work – testing, contact tracing, maintaining physical distance and wearing a mask./. … [Read more...] about Philippines re-imposes partial lockdown on Luzon amid surge in COVID-19 cases