Tibetan tourists flock to Lhasa amid easing travel rules aimed at jolting economy — Radio Free Asia

A Tibetan prays at Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of western's China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Nov. 17, 2015. The Potala Palace, once the seat of Tibetan government and  traditional residence of Dalai Lama, is a 13-story palace with more than 1,000 rooms. (Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Tibet’s regional capital of Lhasa is seeing a flurry of Tibetan visitors for Losar, the Tibetan New Year, thanks to a relaxation in travel restrictions announced by Beijing in an effort to revive the slumping economy, three sources from inside Tibet said. Most of them are coming from Sichuan and Qinghai provinces – known as

Tourists will love the yen. Will Japan love them back?

With the yen near the cheapest level in decades, Japan is set to reopen its borders — but does the country know what type of tourist nation it wants to be? | BLOOMBERG

Japan looks like it may finally open its borders and end its splendid isolation. The key question is: Can it learn to love foreign tourists again? After a series of head fake border re-openings this year that promised more than they delivered, a report recently that Japan would scrap most restrictions on tourists was the

China launches rescue effort in southwestern Sichuan after 6.8-magnitude quake — Radio Free Asia

Rescue workers carry an injured person after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in Luding county, Ganzi prefecture, in southwestern China's Sichuan province, Sept. 6, 2022. Credit: CNS/AFP

UPDATED at 11:25 A.M. EDT on 2022-09-06 Rescue workers in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan scrambled to evacuate and assist thousands of victims of Monday’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked Luding county, which has left at least 66 people dead and 253 others injured, according to the latest official Chinese figures. Ruling Chinese Communist Party

Japan clarifies new border rules as it moves to allow most individual tourists to enter

Naminoue Umisora Park during sunset in Naha on Aug. 21. With eased restrictions soon coming into force, the only tourists who won't be allowed to enter Japan will be those who want to stay in accommodations that travel agencies don’t offer in their 'package tours.' | AFP-JIJI

Foreign tourists who aren’t traveling as part of group tours will soon be able to come to Japan under eased tourism restrictions — as long as they book flights and accommodation through a travel agency, a government official in charge said Thursday. “The key is to have a sponsor in Japan, like a travel agency,

Japan to ease tourism restrictions and raise daily arrival cap to 50,000

Tokyo's Asakusa district on Aug. 13 | KYODO

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday that Japan will allow the entry of nonescorted visitors on package tours and raise the daily arrival cap to 50,000 starting Sept. 7 — a significant step toward the full resumption of tourism. “In countries worldwide, international exchange is growing. To participate in these exchanges and to benefit from

British Airways announce further cuts to flights from October

British Airways announces further cancellations of up to 2m seats on their aircraft to the end of October, with ten thousand flights being scrapped. These will be mainly short-haul journeys to Europe and domestic areas, rather than long-haul which will be less effected. Ticket costs and delays are expected to increase as a result. For

72% of survey respondents blame border controls for not visiting Japan

An arrivals lobby at Tokyo's Haneda Airport is seen almost deserted in January 2021, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. | KYODO

A survey released Tuesday by a Tokyo-based company that encourages tourism to Japan showed that 72% of respondents will not, or will probably not, visit the country if it continues with its current entry controls. The D2C X Inc. survey also showed 91% of the 1,717 overseas respondents found the entry controls, which include COVID-19

Hong Kong cuts hotel quarantine to three days to revive hub

Lo Chung-Mau, Hong Kong's secretary for health (left), John Lee, chief executive (center) and Sun Dong, secretary for innovation, technology and industry, during a news conference in Hong Kong, on Monday. | BLOOMBERG

Hong Kong will reduce the period of time people entering the city must spend in hotel quarantine to three days from seven, a bolder-than-expected easing of its strict travel curbs, yet still leaving the Asian financial hub isolated in a world that’s mostly reverted to pre-pandemic movement. People arriving at Hong Kong’s international airport will

U.S. to drop COVID-19 testing for incoming international air travelers

An airline counter at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York in January | HILARY SWIFT / THE NEW YORK TIMES

The United States will drop pre-departure COVID-19 international air testing requirements effective Sunday at 12:01 a.m. after heavy lobbying from airlines and the travel industry, a senior administration official said. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden will announce on Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will no longer require pre-departure

Businesses pin hopes on foreign tourists as Japan eases border measures

The Nakamise shopping street in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Friday. Business owners in Asakusa are anxious to see foreign tourists return. | KYODO

Japan’s businesses are pinning hopes on an inbound tourism recovery with the country having resumed the process of accepting foreign tourists for the first time since suspending it more than two years ago due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the economic impact of easing border measures may not be so large at first due to

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