A Singapore Airlines employee wears a medical mask for protection against the novel coronavirus outbreak at LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal on February 2, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.

Singapore Airlines cuts more flights; Changi sees 33% drop in passengers

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has cut more flights to China and Italy, with more cancellations to Europe set to come as the Republic announces new travel restrictions.

5 years ago

News

Costa cancels all cruises around the world over virus

Costa said Friday it was suspending all of its cruises around the world until April 3 over the coronavirus outbreak as governments step up measures to contain the outbreak. ...

5 years ago

News

Instagram vs reality: Travel influencers gloss over coronavirus

In the time of coronavirus, to log in to Twitter or Facebook is to be bombarded with posts about infection rates, hand sanitizer and social distancing. Airlines are dropping flights, countries are tightening borders, and concerts and conferences have been canceled. But there’s one place where it’s possible to escape the outbreak: Instagram. ...

5 years ago

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This picture shows a general view of the tiny Anafiotika district of Athens, under the Acropolis archaeological site.

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Coronavirus shuts down museums, sites in Greece

Greece on Friday shut down shops, bars and restaurants as well top tourist sites such as the Acropolis as coronavirus cases jumped from 117 to 190 in a single day.

5 years ago

Airplanes of German carrier Lufthansa stand at the air terminal of Frankfurt Airport, Germany, on Thursday.

News

Frankfurt airport’s 45% traffic drop reveals extent of virus hit

The slide has accelerated to 45% in past days and the airport is preparing for a 60% decline.

5 years ago

The Hall of Mirrors (Galerie des Glaces) of the Royal Palace of Versailles

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France's Louvre and Palace of Versailles shut by coronavirus

Paris' top tourists sites, including the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, closed Friday because of the coronavirus, as France said it was banning all gatherings of more than 100 people.

5 years ago

News

Top Dutch museums close over coronavirus

The Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museums in the Dutch capital Amsterdam said Thursday they were closing until the end of March to help halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

5 years ago

People wear a protective facemask as they walk in front the Eiffel tower, in Paris, on March 12, 2020 during a world COVID-19 outbreak.

News

Coronavirus a 'catastrophe' for Paris tourist industry

Hotels and restaurants across Paris have been hit hard by fears over the virus, which has infected nearly 2,300 people in France and killed 48.

5 years ago

Dani tribe people of Ugem Village, Baliem Valley, West Papua.

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COVID-19: Jayawijaya cancels Baliem Valley Cultural Festival as health precaution

The cultural festival cancellation was made following the government's recent announcement of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the country.

5 years ago

Khumbu Glacier and Himalayan mountain landscape in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal. Nepal has closed all of its Himalayan peaks including Mount Everest this climbing season because of fears of the coronavirus outbreak.

Destination

Nepal closes Mount Everest for climbers because of coronavirus fears

"Climbing this season has been closed.”

5 years ago

The 40-meter high Rain Vortex, which is the world's tallest indoor waterfall, is seen from inside Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore

News

Best customer service is at airports in Asia: Survey

A new survey reveals the best airports for customer service.

5 years ago

Wings Air Indonesia ATR 72-600 PK-WHQ sits at Supadio International Airport, Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

News

Wings Air to connect Pontianak and Palangkaraya

Wings Air, a subsidiary of Lion Air Group, will start flying a new route from Pontianak in West Kalimantan to Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan on April 3.

5 years ago

Illustration of a water park. Set to open March 19, the DreamWorks Water Park is set inside American Dream, a retail and entertainment complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey that has been opening in phases.

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Largest indoor water park from DreamWorks Animation opening in New Jersey

DreamWorks Animation studio is opening what's being billed as North America's largest indoor water park, where thrill rides based on characters like Shrek and Kung Fu Panda will bring popular kids' films to life.

5 years ago

A Sriwijaya Air aircraft takes off at an airport.

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Sriwijaya Air to open new route to and from Makassar

Sriwijaya Air's vice president of networking and revenue management, A. Yani Azwar, said in a statement that Sriwijaya Air would open a new route connecting Makassar and Yogyakarta on March 29 – the same day the airline plans to move its operations from Yogyakarta's Adi Sucipto Airport to the new Yogyakarta International Airport.

5 years ago

Christie Elan-Cane, who does not identify as either male or female, had asked the court in London to rule that Britain's passport application process was "inherently discriminatory".

News

UK activist loses latest court bid over gender-neutral passports

A campaigner battling the British government for the right to get a gender-neutral passport lost a Court of Appeal challenge on Tuesday over the issue.

5 years ago

A young woman takes pictures of the city with her mobile phone, from the glass-floor observation platform, in the Oriental Pearl Tower, in the financial district of Shanghai, on May 9, 2019.

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Shanghai skyscrapers' viewing platforms re-open as virus eases

High-profile fixtures of Shanghai's skyline began to re-open Thursday on a limited basis in a sign of confidence that the coronavirus was being tamed in the Chinese financial center.

5 years ago

India’s most popular tourist attraction, the Taj Mahal. India's visa suspension begins March 13 at 1200 GMT at the port of departure, the government's Press Information Bureau said.

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India suspends tourist visas over coronavirus

India on Wednesday suspended all tourist visas until April 15 and said it would quarantine travelers arriving from seven virus-hit countries as it attempts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus.

5 years ago

The operator of Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea said the parks will remain closed through early April over fears of the coronavirus outbreak.

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Tokyo Disney parks extend closure until early April over virus

The operator of Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea said Wednesday the parks will remain closed through early April over fears of the coronavirus outbreak.

5 years ago

Tourists marvel at the beauty of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java.

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Mount Bromo to close access for visitors over Nyepi

The closure will start at midnight on March 24 and continue until 5 a.m. on March 26.

5 years ago

A view shows deserted Spanish Steps in Rome after sunset on March 10, 2020 after Italy imposed unprecedented national restrictions on its 60 million people Tuesday to control the deadly COVID-19 coronavirus.

News

Last tourists race home from virus-hit Italy

Many holidaymakers had already made their escape when Italy started succumbing last month to COVID-19.

5 years ago

A woman (C) buys food in Tokyo's Tsukiji area on February 17, 2020.

News

Tokyo tourist sites 'nearly empty' as coronavirus bites

In Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market, restaurants normally thronged with tourists hoping to sample some of its renowned sushi stand empty, victim of the coronavirus that is battering Japan's tourism sector.

5 years ago

Huge congestions of vehicles are seen during peak hours in Bogota on January 29, 2009.

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Latin American and European cities dominate list of world's most congested cities

Bogota tops a scorecard of the most congested cities in the world, where drivers lose an average of 191 hours a year to traffic jams.

5 years ago

A general view shows a pier in Denpasar on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on March 8, 2020, from which fast boats travel to Nusa Penida island.

Destination

Visitors vanish from Asia's most visited sites

As dawn breaks the unmistakable tapered towers of Angkor Wat emerge from the gloom - but for once there are no tourists jostling on its steps to capture Cambodia's most famous sunrise.

5 years ago

Visitors queue outside the Pyramid, the main entrance to the Louvre museum in Paris on March 4, 2020.

News

Louvre restricts entry, French concerts canceled over virus fears

The Louvre said Monday it was restricting entry to the world's most visited museum, as concerts were cancelled across France because of the new coronavirus.

5 years ago

The application of digital technology has improved public services for tourists in China, said the report issued by the China Tourism Academy, with a focus on the industry's performance in 2019.

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Online toilet map boosts 'toilet revolution' in China: Report

Digital technology has boosted the "toilet revolution" in the tourism sector in China, an industry report said.

5 years ago

United Airlines told AFP in a statement that the flight -- headed from Eagle, Colorado, to Newark, New Jersey -- was diverted on Sunday afternoon to Denver's international airport.

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Coronavirus: US plane diverted after passengers upset by sneezing

United Airlines told AFP in a statement that the flight -- headed from Eagle, Colorado, to Newark, New Jersey -- was diverted on Sunday afternoon to Denver's international airport.

5 years ago

The third edition of the Tanah Lot Festival is to be themed "Tirta Kamandalu", which translates as"holy water from the bottom of the ocean that becomes the source of life."

News

Tanah Lot Festival seeks to revive tourism in Bali

According to Tanah Lot Tourist manager, I Ketut Toya Adnyana on Sunday, the biennial event would involve around 1,000 artists from seven Pekraman village communities in Kediri district.

5 years ago

This file photo taken on June 17, 2017 shows visitors watching fireworks exploding over the castle at an event to mark the first anniversary of the opening of Shanghai Disneyland in China.

News

Shanghai Disney Resort announces partial reopening

Shanghai Disney Resort announced on Monday it would reopen a select range of shopping, dining and recreational options around the facility, while the Disneyland park will remain closed.

5 years ago

An aerial photo shows unused tourist buses parked on a lot near Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on March 8, 2020. Ranks of tourist buses idle under a burning sun while once-bustling theme parks lie empty -- from above, striking images reveal the hollowing out of Thai tourism due to fears of the new coronavirus.

News

Tour buses idle as Thai economy takes gut punch from virus

Ranks of tourist buses idle under a burning sun while once-bustling theme parks lie empty -- from above, striking images reveal the hollowing out of Thai tourism due to the effect of the new coronavirus.

5 years ago