Insight
COVID-19 UPDATE - ASIA Asia Market Update
MACAU-GUANGDONG
A travel bubble between Macau and Guangdong province represents a critical travel corridor for Macau’s casino operators. Residents of Guangdong province make up nearly 70 per cent of visitors to Macau. As such, opening the border to residents living in portions of the Pearl River Delta is essential if Macau’s casino industry is to recover. Te issuance of individual travel visas for residents of Guangdong province who can provide proof of a negative test was recently restarted. Tourists from Hong Kong and Taiwan are not included in the bubble and remain subject to 14 day quarantine upon arrival in Macau.
It remains to be seen how quickly visitors return and how the Macau government will react should the virus re-emerge in the local population. Macau has enjoyed several months without infections among its residents and until recently has maintained strict 14 day quarantine rules for returning citizens and visitors.
CAMBODIA-THAILAND
Te border crossing between Poipet, Cambodia and Aranyaprathet, Tailand is a primary commerce route between the two countries. It also serves as the gateway to Siem Reap and Cambodia’s world heritage sites. Poipet is home to about a dozen casinos that cater to daytrip and overnight gamers from Tailand. Both Tailand and Cambodia have maintained strict border controls and brought the Covid-19 infection rate to near zero. Nevertheless, it did so at great expense to their tourism economies. In July, the border crossing re-opened to allow for a limited number of trucks to move goods between the two countries. Tourist traffic has yet to resume. At least two Poipet casinos have re-opened their doors but the only visitors are expatriates residing in Cambodia.
Citizens of Tailand can enter Cambodia and return simply by presenting a government issued travel card. All other foreigners must present their passports and complete immigration forms to enter either country. As such, a travel bubble for Tai residents wishing to visit the casinos in Poipet is viable. While no such visitor scheme has been publicised, it would represent an excellent test that could lead to a wider resumption of travel between the two countries.
CAMBODIA-VIETNAM
Vietnam is another nation that was able to limit the virus’s spread. Te country took a number of precautions, including the suspension of international flights in March. Travel from one province to another was also restricted. Tis in turn had a devastating effect on Vietnam’s tourism industry.
Te Prime Minister of Vietnam recently ordered the Transport Ministry to speed up the resumption of commercial flights to South Korea, Japan and other Asian nations that have contained the virus. However, a second wave of outbreaks struck a number of localities in late July, prompting renewed limitations on domestic travel.
Cambodia and Vietnam share five international borders including the one connecting Bavet, Cambodia to Moc Bai, Vietnam. Te highway also links Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. Bavet has a robust casino industry with 12 properties serving daytrip and overnight gamers from Vietnam.
Te border closed in mid-March and has yet to re- open to tourism traffic. Prior to the closure, Vietnamese citizens were able to easily cross the border to visit the casino district while citizens of other nations had to complete immigration forms and present their passports.
Bavet represents another possible travel bubble, both for commerce and tourism. Nevertheless, neither government has announced plans to fully re-open the border crossing or to test the travel bubble concept.
SINGAPORE-MALAYSIA
Singapore and Malaysia have long held close cultural and commercial ties. Te Johor-Singapore Causeway serves as a bridge connecting the two nations and is a primary source of cross-border traffic. Both govern- ments have negotiated an agreement to allow for the resumption of business travel between the two na- tions. Te problem is that the agreement is not so much bilateral as unilateral.
A visitor from either country would have to be sponsored by a business in the destination country and in turn provide the government with a travel itinerary. Any deviation from that itinerary is prohibited. A visitor would have to provide a negative test prior to departure, during their stay, and upon return to their home country. However, at present time a visitor returning to Malaysia would be required to self-quarantine for 14 days upon return.
WHAT LIES AHEAD
All ASEAN economies are dependent on tourism and commerce between their nations. Current travel restrictions are economically unsustainable. Travel bubbles offer a tenuous solution for the near term. What is ultimately needed is an inexpensive test that could be administered to visitors upon entry to a destination country with results given in a short amount of time. When such a test becomes widely available, it will be possible for cross-border traffic to resume as well as a modest resumption of regional tourism.
Even with a test that meets these criteria, the logistics of implementing such a testing program will be daunting. Upon arrival, a visitor would enter a testing area, be administered the test, then wait in a holding area until the test is processed. No overland border crossing or airport is equipped today to handle such a testing regimen.
Ultimately tourism will not return to pre-pandemic levels until there is a safe and effective vaccine coursing through the veins of 70 per cent of the population. Until then, fragile travel bubbles offer Asian casinos their best hope for a modest recovery.
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P49
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144
