Air Travel Resumption and Border Reopening the Need of the Hour in Asia

Img via Park Hotel Clarke Quay

As quoted in an online article in the Nikkei Asian Review in June, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines Director General, Subhas Menon, stressed the need for Asia to resume international travel and reopen borders; he pointed out that Asian countries were moving too slowly in this regard compared to Europe. Three months on and the region has seen many countries slowly but surely reopening borders and resuming flights though travel is still limited.

Positive steps have been taken, however. This included an agreement between China and Singapore for business-related travel to six Chinese destinations; in August 2020, select cross-border travel between Singapore and Malaysia also began. This will boost the hospitality industry as visitors once again look for accommodation be it at properties in Clarke Quay or hotels in Serangoon Road, Singapore including the likes of Park Hotel Farrer Park. Other Asian destinations that have begun to systematically reopen their borders include the Maldives, Nepal, Thailand, Bali and Sri Lanka.