Mass unemployment the new normal in SE Asia

A new International Labor Organization report suggests that more than one in six young people worldwide has stopped working since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, while the rest have seen their working hours cut by almost a quarter.

In Southeast Asia, unemployment rates have spiked to almost unprecedented levels because of the pandemic, which has devastated economies to varying degrees. Until now, official unemployment rates in the region have been enviably low.

Before 2020, Cambodia’s unemployment rates had barely risen above […]

The 30 most anticipated luxury Hotel Openings for 2021

Kimpton Resort Sanya Haitang Bay. The 251-room resort will be located directly on the beach.

From a spectacular island beach resort on a private bay in Greece, a historic ski property in the Alps, or a modern sculptured art hotel in Scotland, I have curated a list of highly anticipated hotel openings for 2021 around the world. Many of these properties have continued construction despite COVID-19 as long- range investments, but could still be delayed in opening due to restrictions from […]

Hotels in Asia find locking down easier than unlocking

As countries in Southeast Asia such as Thailand and Vietnam ease lockdown restrictions, hoteliers that are raring to reopen are finding that unlocking is harder than closing.

While many by now have a respectable crisis management textbook, thanks to past disasters that have included tsunamis, volcano eruptions, earthquakes, terror attacks, financial crises, military coups and SARS, there isn’t a chapter on how to unlock a hotel when the state of play is still unfolding.

One of the most exasperating challenges of reopening, […]

Dubai set to open Heart of Europe with 6 outrageous themed islands

Based on six islands that bring the best of Europe to Dubai, The Heart of Europe is located 2 miles from the coast of Dubai and will offer up a variety of European cultural, dining, and hospitality experiences across resorts, cafés, bars, boutiques, and entertainment. Kleindienst Group developed the $5 billion master-planned tourism island destination that came a long way since its original concept was launched in 2008.

The Covid-19 outbreak may have stopped business on the mainland, but the Heart of Europe islands continued work at an aggressive […]

Vietnam builds the ‘world’s first’ 24 carat gold-coated hotel

The Golden Lake hotel-apartment complex in Hanoi has been crowned the world’s first gold-plated hotel, with construction expected to be complete in 2020.

Footage from May 21, shows the glistening gold-plated exterior which startles passers-by and according to local media, has 5,000 square meters of gilded ceramic on the outside.

The complex, which began construction in 2009, is 25-storeys high and located in the downtown Ba Dinh district of Hanoi, on the bank of the Giang Vo Lake.

Built by the Hoa Binh […]

10 tourist hot spots planning to reopen this June

Despite nonessential travel still being discouraged in many places, some tourism-reliant countries are beginning to hatch plans to welcome back tourists.
Italy announced plans to allow international travel starting June 3, even though it saw Europe’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak.
Saint Lucia expects to become the first Caribbean island to reopen to tourists on June 4.
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From Italy to Germany, countries around the world are slowly relaxing their lockdowns, easing into a new normal that’s not quite what it was pre-pandemic, but as close to […]