That Short Getaway Trip Won’t Make a Return Soon, Singapore Says
Singapore announced a travel agreement with six Chinese cities and provinces exclusively for business travelers.
(Bloomberg) --
Singapore’s population has been warned: short and cheap budget holidays to idyllic tourist hotspots are unlikely to make a return anytime soon.
That’s one of the takeaways messages from Lee Hsien Loong, the city state’s prime minister, on Sunday in the first of a series of televised addresses by government leaders to residents.
“Movement of people will be more restricted,” Lee said. “International travel will be much less frequent. Health checks and quarantines will become the norm. It will no longer be so easy to take quick weekend trips to Bangkok or Hong Kong on a budget flight.”
Singapore is in the process of easing partial lockdown measures, which shut schools and most offices since early April. Last week, it entered the first of a three-phase easing. The country has one of the highest reported number of coronavirus infections in Asia with more than 37,000 confirmed cases as of Sunday.
The island state recently announced a travel agreement between Singapore and six Chinese cities and provinces exclusively for business travelers. The financial hub is also in talks to establish “travel bubbles” with countries which have controlled their epidemics, including Malaysia, New Zealand and South Korea, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said on Monday.
Singapore Airlines and its SilkAir unit have restored some flights this month but are only operating at 6% of capacity as the global spread of the virus wiped out travel demand.
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