Cruises start closer to home

SINGAPORE, 11 October, 2017: Princess Cruises’ newest cruise ship, Majestic Princess, will board guests at close-to-home departure ports in Asia to experience destinations in the region and Australasia, starting February 2018.

The third ship in the Royal class of ships, the 3,560-passenger Majestic Princess was launched last March.

It is tailored specifically for the Asian market, representing the newest and largest ships in the Princess Cruises fleet.  The fourth Royal-class ship is scheduled for delivery in 2019. Read more

Thai Smile flies to Laos and Taiwan

BANGKOK 3 October 2017: THAI Smile Airways and its parent company, Thai Airways International, launched two new routes at the weekend to Taiwan and Laos.

The Bangkok – Kaohsiung route serves the busy southern seaport and second largest city in Taiwan, while the service to Luang Prabang gives the two airlines access to a popular tourist destination and World Heritage site in Laos.

This is the second time Thai Smile has introduced a service to Luang Prabang, after a service launched in 2012 was aborted due to traffic right issues just weeks into a summer timetable. Read more

Taiwan backlash over Emirates flag ban

TAIPEI, 1 June 2017: Emirates, the Middle East’s largest airline, faced fierce criticism in Taiwan, Wednesday, after it reportedly banned cabin crew from wearing the island’s flag on their uniforms due to pressure from China.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had lodged protests with Emirates in both Dubai and Taipei.

The airline’s cabin crew traditionally wear the flag pin of their own country on their uniforms. Read more

Taiwanese trekker rescued in Nepal

KATHMANDU, 27 April 2017: Rescuers on Wednesday found two Taiwanese trekkers who went missing in a remote mountainous part of Nepal seven weeks ago, but only one survived the ordeal.

Liu Chen-chun, 19,​ died just three days before the rescue team located the couple in northwest Nepal, but her boyfriend managed to survive despite running out of food.

Liang Sheng-yueh, 21, is being treated in hospital in Kathmandu where he was airlifted after being rescued from the steep slope where the couple had been trapped for over a month. Read more

Taiwan extends visa free for Thais

BANGKOK, 27 April 2017: Good news for Thai travellers as Taiwan decides to extend visa-free visits for Thai passport holders for another year until the end of July 2018.

According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of China (Taiwan), the visa exemption that was offered to nationals of Thailand and Brunei will now be extended to 31 July, 2018.

It was due to expire 31 July this year. Read more

Sabah builds airline links

KOTA KINABALU, 7 February 2017: Sabah’s tourism prospects are looking up as more airlines establish flights to the East Malaysian state.

Sabah Tourism Board general manager, Gordon Yapp, said Xiamen Airlines’ inaugural nonstop flight from Fuzhou to Kota Kinabalu, last week, signals the city’s status as the gateway city to East Malaysia.

In addition, Malindo Air is planning four weekly direct flights to Taipei. Sabah enjoyed a double-digit growth in tourist arrivals from Taiwan last year. Read more

Vietjet links HCMC and Taichung

SINGAPORE, 19 January 2017: Vietjet has launched its fifth route to Taiwan, linking Ho Chi Minh City with Taichung.

The airline now has the most routes connecting Vietnam and Taiwan and serves more destinations in Taiwan than any other budget airline.

The new service was launched 15 January to meet increased travel demand between the two destinations. Read more

Taiwan mushroom topples in typhoon

TAIWAN, 21 September 2016: Divers say a towering coral known as the “Big Mushroom” at the heart of a world-famous dive site in Taiwan has been toppled after Typhoon Meranti struck last week.

The super-typhoon was the strongest storm for 21 years to strike Taiwan, leaving one dead before killing another 28 as it moved to eastern China.

Green Island off Taiwan’s east coast — which attracts divers from around the globe — has been left reeling from the underwater damage caused by the storm and by the smaller Typhoon Malakas which followed it. Read more

Taiwan’s travel trade protests slump

TAIPEI, 13 September 2016: Thousands of tourism industry workers took to the streets in Taiwan, Monday, demanding the government address a slump in visitors from China as cross-strait ties deteriorate.

Operators who had previously benefited from a boom in mainland tourists under former President Ma Ying-jeou’s Beijing-friendly government are now only getting a fraction of the business as relations with China grow increasingly frosty under new president Tsai Ing-wen.

The number of visitors from China has dropped almost 24% in the months since Beijing-sceptic Tsai took office in May, compared with the same period last year, according to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council. Read more

TTAA forecasts more bookings to Taiwan

BANGKOK, 25 July 2016: Thai Travel Agents Association says Taiwan’s decision to grant visa exemption for Thai citizens will boost travel to around 200,000 trips by year-end.

TTAA president, Suparerk Soorangura, told TTR Weekly that the visa exemption would make it more convenient for Thai travellers to book a tour to Taiwan, saving both time (visa processing) and costs, especially for Thais living outside of the capital.

“The scheme will encourage Thais to travel as they do not need to apply for a visa and it saves around THB1,000 in visa fees….Taiwan is now  a  favourite destinations for Thais as it is only a three-hour and 30-minute flight from Bangkok… it is safe and lots of airlines and low-cost airlines offer services that keep the package prices competitive.” Read more

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