Asia monthly tips

AirAsia parent company Capital A announced on Wednesday that it will be listing in the U.S. public markets.

The surprise exit of Jumeirah Group CEO Katerina Giannouka 15 months into her role is the latest resignation for the government-owned hotel brand of Dubai.

Katerina Giannouka has left Jumeirah Group one year into her time as CEO, confirms an internal document seen by Skift. The document is attributed to Jumeirah’s owning company Dubai Holding group CEO Amit Kaushal and was circulated to leaders in the organization.

Dubai has introduced a 5-year multiple entry visa for Indians, the emirate’s largest source market for tourism.

Just two days after the Economic Times reported that Oyo had met with regulators to expedite its IPO, it reported that the hotel operator wanted to back out of the public offering.

Dubai saw 17 million visitors in 2023, the emirate’s best-ever year for tourism and the first year ahead of pre-pandemic numbers. The news was shared in a brief tweet by the city’s crown prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed.

After a horrific start to January, Boeing has received a much needed boost. The good news has come from India where the country’s youngest carrier Akasa Air has ordered 150 Boeing 737 Max aircraft. The deal was confirmed at the aviation event Wings India 2024 on Thursday in Hyderabad. 

China is addressing the bottlenecks that have restricted outbound travel from the country. But the enthusiasm among Chinese travelers to visit the U.S. is diminishing, according to the latest survey from China Trading Desk, a marketing technology company.

Among the last countries to resume tourism activities post-pandemic, North Korea is set to welcome its first international tourists in February, marking the end of its border closure since January 22, 2020. And tourists, especially in Russia, are taking note.

On Tuesday, travel metasearch engine Skyscanner unveiled Everywhere Agency, what it calls a “virtual pop-up travel consultancy.”

Jetstar Asia, the low-cost carrier based in Singapore, has appointed John Simeone as its new CEO. Barathan Pasupathi, the outgoing CEO who led the airline for 12 years, will step down from his role on March 1 to “pursue other opportunities.”

China will now be entering into a reciprocal agreement with Thailand for permanent waiver of visa requirements for citizens of the two countries from March onwards.

Japan issued a tsunami warning along with urgent evacuation orders after a powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale shook the Ishikawa region on Monday.

China has simplified entry rules for U.S. citizens visiting the country on tourist visas. Starting January 1, tourist visa applicants in the U.S. will no longer be required to submit proof of round-trip air tickets, hotel reservations, itinerary or invitation letter. 

While remote work gains ground, a subgroup of professionals is taking it a step further — enter the digital nomads. These are individuals who leverage technology not just to work from home but to work from anywhere, exploring the diverse landscapes of a destination.

Nepal will be hosting its inaugural LGBTQ+ tourism conference next month with the goal of establishing the country as an inclusive and welcoming destination for sexual minorities.

The outbound travel recovery in China is stuck at just over half of 2019 levels, but there’s at least one promising sign of future demand: Domestic tourism is 90% above 2019 levels.

Sri Lanka has finally announced its plans to roll out its global tourism marketing campaign urging tourists “You’ll Come Back For More,” marking the first such campaign since 2007.  

The ultra-exclusive hotel operator Kerzner has said it plans as many as 15 more hotels as soon as five years from now. The Bahamas-born hotel group was created in 1993 and has focused on slow and steady growth over three decades with 15 One&Only resorts around the world, two Atlantis mega-resorts and a single “Rare Finds” property in the Dubai desert.

The master developer of Saudi Arabia’s super-luxury island tourism project, The Red Sea, is working on another giga-project that will house more affordable hotel options and tap into a market — millions of travelers strong. Red Sea Global (RSG) group CEO John Pagano confirmed the development to Skift, adding that it will open before 2030 and introduce thousands more hotel rooms to the kingdom’s burgeoning tourism sector.

A Palestinian delegation was at ITB Asia tourism trade show in Singapore, despite the war and humanitarian crisis at home. “Palestine is a tourism destination and a political state with a significant historical background,” said Majed Ishaq, director general of marketing for Palestinian ministry of tourism. “Come to our country through Palestinian tour operators. Spend money in Palestine and help to contribute towards our economy.”Ishaq told Skift that the ministry had previously decided to attend the trade show and didn’t want to back out. “We had already booked a space and paid for the construction of the stand, making it impossible to cancel our participation.”