In this picture taken on February 9, 2020, skiers take part in the closing ceremony of the Malam Jabba International Alpine Ski Cup 2020 in the winter sports resort Malam Jabba, a ski resort in the Hindu Kush range of the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Pakistan hopes untapped mountains could lure foreign skiers

The little Pakistani ski resort of Malam Jabba is facing a new challenge from the coronavirus pandemic, just as it had hoped to showcase its revamped facilities to the world.

5 years ago

News

Virus stalls globetrotters' trip in a Florida parking lot

They have been traveling the world for four years on an ambitious trek that has taken them to 50 countries on five continents. But the coronavirus pandemic has stopped the couple in their tracks. ...

5 years ago

News

Japan's Narita Airport offers cardboard beds for travelers awaiting coronavirus all-clear

Japan's Narita Airport has prepared an impromptu hotel of cardboard beds and quilts in its baggage-claim area for passengers from overseas who might have to stay there while awaiting the results of tests for the novel coronavirus. ...

5 years ago

The Latest

According to UN numbers, as of Friday more than 1.5 billion school-aged kids and teenagers have been affected by Covid-19, which has forced the closures of schools around the world.

News

NatGeo launches family-friendly portal for little explorers

National Geographic has launched a new family-friendly digital hub for little explorers and adventurers; the space features online quizzes, videos and science experiments to help them bide their time.

5 years ago

Hotels will require guests to provide a national health clearance and a Beijing’s health condition app, with both showing “normal”.

News

At Beijing hotels, negative tests to be required

Starting on Sunday, travelers who come to Beijing will be required to provide negative coronavirus test results when they check in to hotels in the capital, under a new measure announced on Friday.

5 years ago

AirAsia Group CEO, Tony Fernandes speaks at a press conference in Sydney on March 12, 2015.

News

Accept AirAsia credit instead of asking for refunds, urges Tony Fernandes

AirAsia customers are urged to accept store credit for replacement flights instead of claiming refunds for flights affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, says Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

5 years ago

A handout image made available by the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy shows the rare white giraffe and her calf taken on May 31, 2017, in Garissa county in North Eastern Kenya.

News

With tourists gone, Africa's conservationists brace for the worst

The orphaned baby elephants ambled in for their morning feed at Kenya's Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT), but the hundreds of visitors who would normally be waiting to watch them were absent. So were their dollars.

5 years ago

So far, the platform features activities from 30 countries and includes everything from learning about K-beauty from a TV host in Seoul to learning the art of meditation from a Japanese monk in Osaka or making homemade pasta with an Italian nonna in Rome.

News

Airbnb launches digital tourist experiences for virtual travel

Airbnb is shifting its Experiences platform, which sells guided tours and tourist activities like cooking and pottery classes, to the virtual world with online experiences that will be hosted through Zoom.

5 years ago

A general view shows a near-empty beach in Kuta on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on March 22, 2020, amid concerns of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

News

Sun, sea, sand and space as coronavirus empties Asia's beaches

Just weeks ago, some visitors were complaining that Bali's famous sand and surf spot of Kuta Beach was way too busy. Now it is deserted, with access banned as part of measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, which has killed nearly 100,000 people around the world and infected more than 1.5 million.

5 years ago

A worshiper prays outside the closed door of the Holy Sepulchre Church during Palm Sunday in Jerusalem's Old City amid movement restrictions due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, on April 5 2020.

News

Take a tour of Jerusalem without leaving your couch

The city of Jerusalem is accessible to virtual visitors during lockdown.

5 years ago

View of Nyang-yang Island in Southwest Siberut, Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra

News

45 foreign tourists stranded in Mentawai amid COVID-19 outbreak

Forty-five foreign tourists are stranded in Mentawai Islands in West Sumatra amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

5 years ago

From late March, Vietnam ordered curbs on domestic flights and adopted social distancing nationwide to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected 257 people, although none have died.

News

Vietnamese airlines to resume domestic flights from Thursday

Vietnam's Bamboo Airways and VietJet Air will resume domestic flights from Thursday after the expiry of a government order for 15 days of social distancing norms to be observed, the companies said.

5 years ago

Users of the company's mobile app My Bluebird can access BirdKirim to send an item.

News

Blue Bird expands to deliveries amid COVID-19 pandemic

Taxi operator Blue Bird has expanded its services and will now make deliveries of items such as documents and household products.

5 years ago

The national carrier of the United Arab Emirates has announced details of a pilot project that will introduce the new technology at its hub airport in Abu Dhabi. The kiosks will be installed at the end of the month and be trialed throughout May.

News

Etihad to launch contactless kiosks that can detect fever and flag at-risk travelers

Etihad Airways is testing self-serve, contactless kiosks that can monitor passengers' temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate and identify at-risk travelers.

5 years ago

Visitors wearing protective face masks and Winnie the Pooh costumes, following an outbreak of the coronavirus, are seen outside Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, east of Tokyo, Japan February 28, 2020.

News

Tokyo Disney parks, USJ to extend closure again over coronavirus

Tokyo Disney Resort and Universal Studios Japan will again extend their closure and reopen later than mid-May to curb the spread of the new coronavirus in line with the government's request, the operators of the theme parks said Thursday.

5 years ago

The island where Misool Eco Resort is located is currently on lockdown until at least April 21.

News

Raja Ampat's Misool Eco Resort closes doors until September

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the secluded Misool Eco Resort in the West Papuan regency of Raja Ampat to shut its operations until Sept. 25.

5 years ago

People walk past closed shops outside the Senso-ji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa area on April 10, 2020.

News

Tokyo seeks shop shutdowns, Kyoto warns tourists away as COVID-19 threatens Japan economy

Metropolitan Tokyo asked some businesses to close and the ancient capital of Kyoto warned tourists to stay away as Japan battles a fast-spreading outbreak of the new coronavirus, amid fears the government's measures are too little and too late.

5 years ago

Hogwarts in Universal Orlando, Florida, United States

News

Universal Studios extends theme park closures to at least May 31

Universal Studios said on Thursday it was extending the closure of its theme parks in Florida and California until at least May 31 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

5 years ago

A general view shows a deserted Piazza del Duomo in center Milan on April 9, 2020 during the country's lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus.

News

Tourist hotspot Italy turns into virus no-go zone

Tourists from across the world flock daily to Italy to marvel at its art-filled cathedrals and Roman ruins. But the rolling hills of Tuscany and the ancient city of Pompeii have looked almost abandoned since the coronavirus pandemic turned the Mediterranean country into a strict no-go zone.

5 years ago

Destination

Four digital outings for lovers of palaces

If after weeks of isolation, your home is beginning to feel a little cooped up, it might be fun to explore some more generously proportioned interiors.

5 years ago

An aircraft flies over New York City, as seen from an overwing perspective.

News

2019 was a very safe year to fly: IATA

Were it not for COVID-19, the latest stats on airline safety would have served as a boon to consumer confidence in the safety of air travel.

5 years ago

Boeing 737-800 Malindo Air landed at Penang International Airport in Penang Island, Malaysia

News

70% of Malindo Air staff to take unpaid leave

Malindo Air is ceasing all flights this month and asking 70 percent of its staff to take no-pay leave.

5 years ago

The Immigration Directorate General's passport application service is prioritizing medical workers and state officials tasked with picking up medical equipment abroad during the COVID-19 outbreak.

News

COVID-19: Immigration Directorate General temporarily limits passport application services

The Immigration Directorate General has limited passport application services until May 29.

5 years ago

Following the closures, PHRI estimated more than 150,000 employees had been severely impacted.

News

COVID-19: At least 1,266 hotels in Indonesia have closed

The number of hotels that have closed in Indonesia as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak has reached more than 1,260, according to the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI).

5 years ago

The interior of Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

News

AP II installs automatic disinfection chambers in 19 airports

The disinfection chambers have been placed at several points, including baggage claims and entranceways.

5 years ago

This handout picture made available on April 3, 2020 by a high-end operator of serviced apartments Le Bijou Hotel & Resort AG shows the living room of a luxury apartment in downtown Zurich.

News

Cushy quarantine: Swiss firm offers luxury isolation stays

The hotel and tourism industries have been all but flattened by the coronavirus pandemic, but one Swiss firm has found a way to stay afloat offering a luxury COVID-19 isolation service.

5 years ago

Visitors walk around Departure Hall in Changi Airport.

News

Changi Airport T2 operations to be suspended for 18 months amid coronavirus outbreak

Operations at Changi Airport Terminal 2 will be suspended for 18 months from May 1, said Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Monday.

5 years ago

As a precaution to maintain the health and comfort of its hotel staff and guests, OYO is said to apply standard operating procedures in accordance with health protocols.

News

OYO provides rooms for 'healthcare warriors' battling COVID-19 in Jakarta

Hotel chain OYO Hotels and Homes Indonesia has transformed one of its properties into housing for medical personnel who are fighting a surge in COVID-19 cases.

5 years ago

Tips

The best travel films for hikers and nature lovers to watch during self-quarantine

It may be awhile before we can break free and run wild — and in less than 6 feet of one another. But in the meantime, we can turn to storytellers and movie makers who have made some of the world's most stunning, natural surroundings into secondary characters in their films.

5 years ago

Several of the company's ocean parks, like those in Qingdao and Yantai, Shandong province, have already been reopened to tourists, with more set to unlock their doors again.

News

China's theme parks ride again

Since China's fight against COVID-19 began winding down, theme parks across the country have started to reopen, with strict measures in place to prevent further spread of the virus.

5 years ago

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