by Leon LORD Agence France-Presse CORAL COAST, Fiji (AFP) — Fiji dive operator Ashwin Pal was living his dream until the global pandemic hit, guiding tourists around an underwater wonderland of dazzling Pacific coral reefs. Now the 35-year-old hunts the neon-hued fish he once proudly showed off to international visitors, forced to kill the creatures he loves to feed his wife and four children. And the coronavirus-induced shutdown of Fiji’s tourism industry is not the […]
Tag: Tourism
Siargao Island opens to the public; tourists required to have negative COVID swab tests
(Eagle News) — Starting today, Monday, Nov. 23, Siargao Island, the Philippines’ surfing capital, opens to the public as it welcomes local tourists to its world class white sand beaches, natural rock and cave pools and wild water surf sites, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT). This is also confirmed by Mayor Cecilia L. Ruson of the municipality of General Luna, Surigao del Norte thru a local executive order. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat […]
Swiss urged to ‘hit the slopes’ to save ski season
by Agnès PEDRERO Agence France-Presse VERBIER, Switzerland (AFP) — The coronavirus crisis shuttered Switzerland’s ski resorts in the spring, but they are banking on tighter precautions and the Swiss love of the mountains to save them as the winter season kicks off. A cable car ride to the top of the slopes at Verbier, where staff wear plastic face shields, reveals the extent to which the pandemic has impacted even the furthest reaches of the […]
Hong Kong-Singapore ‘travel bubble’ to launch on November 22
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — The “travel bubble” agreed between Hong Kong and Singapore will be opened on November 22, their governments said Wednesday, in a rare piece of good news for the pandemic-battered tourism industry. A quota of 200 residents from each city will be able to travel on one daily flight to the other, Hong Kong’s commerce minister Edward Yau told a press conference. Only those who have been in Hong Kong or […]
Giant metallic ‘steed’ traverses Iceland’s threatened glacier
by Jeremie Richard Agence France-Presse LANGJOKULL, Glacier, Iceland (AFP) — Instead of a slow slog on snowshoes, a giant bus sweeps passengers at up to 60 kilometres an hour across Iceland’s second largest glacier, which scientists predict will likely be nearly gone by the end of the century. The red glacier mega bus is 15 metres (50-foot) long and fitted with massive tyres for traction across the powder snow of western Iceland’s vast Langjokull ice […]
Thailand welcomes first tourists since March
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand has welcomed its first group of tourists in seven months, as part of an experiment aimed at testing if a wider opening is possible as the coronavirus cripples the kingdom’s economy. A planeload of 39 Chinese tourists flew into Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport Tuesday evening from Shanghai to a welcome from staff in full protective equipment. The visitors underwent health checks and had their luggage disinfected, before donning protective clothing themselves […]
California wildfires turn beloved Napa wine spots to ash
by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France-Presse CALISTOGA, California (AFP) — The Silverado Trail has long been a place of dreams for Napa Valley wine lovers as it winds gently through vineyards and on to Calistoga. California’s Glass Fire turned much of that dream to ash, destroying a 3-star restaurant at Meadowood resort, torching wineries such as Chateau Boswell, and tainting precious grapes with smoke. The United States’s west coast is experiencing a record-breaking fire season, with […]
‘Making of Harry Potter’ park to open in Tokyo in 2023
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Muggles in Japan can discover how the Harry Potter films were made at a new amusement park opening in 2023 in Tokyo, Warner Bros said Tuesday, in the latest expansion of the multibillion-dollar wizarding franchise. The attraction, offering visitors a behind-the-scenes look into the production of the eight-hit movies, is the second of its kind, modeled on the original permanent studio exhibition in Britain. “The Studio Tour Tokyo” will stretch across […]
Three dead after glacier tour bus rolls over in Canada
MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — A glacier-viewing bus overturned on Saturday at a popular tourist spot in the Canadian Rockies, killing three people and seriously injuring several others, news reports said. The all-terrain vehicle rolled off the road near the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park, Alberta, national broadcaster CBC said. Photos published by media outlets show the upturned red-and-white bus, equipped with monster-truck style tires for crossing ice, on a rocky slope below the road […]
UK royal residences reopen after virus shutdown
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Some of Queen Elizabeth II’s royal residences will reopen to the public later this month after closing during the coronavirus shutdown, the Royal Collection Trust announced Wednesday. Windsor Castle, west of London, where the 94-year-old monarch has been staying since the start of the pandemic, will be open for pre-booked, timed visits from July 23. The Royal Mews and the Queen’s Gallery at her London home of Buckingham Palace will […]
Dubai reopens doors to tourists after long shutdown
by Mohamad Ali Harissi DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — With a “welcome” passport sticker and coronavirus tests on arrival, Dubai reopens its doors to international visitors Tuesday in the hope of reviving its tourism industry after a nearly four-month closure. But businesses are mainly betting on those already living in the gleaming desert city to energise its ailing economy and serve as a test run before wary foreign holidaymakers return. “A warm welcome to […]
Immigration bureau to Filipinos: International travel still restricted amid COVID-19 pandemic
(Eagle News)–The Bureau of Immigration on Sunday, July 5, reminded Filipinos they can’t leave the country as tourists just yet amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente issued the statement after receiving a report that six Filipinos were offloaded from a special chartered flight going to Cambodia from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on June 29 after they told the immigration officer they were going to attend a business meeting on shrimp farming. The […]





