Seychelles featured on popular Chinese travel website Mafengwo
>> The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) together with the Embassy of the Republic of Seychelles in Beijing worked alongside Chinese travel website Mafengwo.com to launch Seychelles’ first live streaming project on June 25. The 72 minutes live streaming project is worth advertising value of RMB 3.36 million (USD 474,768) for the destination, generated over 39,000 clicks and interactions and 138,000 viewers at Mafengwo.
Safety, geopolitics, live streaming affecting how Chinese travelers choose destination
>> The outbreak of COVID-19 has greatly changed Chinese travelers’ mentality. After the pandemic, destination safety, geopolitics, live streaming will be the three major factors that affect how Chinese travelers choose their holiday destination in a more significant way, according to a TravelLinkDaily report. Those used to be popular might be less attractive.
Mass exodus from Beijing after government eases travel restrictions
>> People in Beijing rushed to buy train and plane tickets out of the Chinese capital after the local government began easing travel restrictions for the first time since an outbreak that was discovered in mid-June. Residents from areas of Beijing designated "low risk" will be allowed to leave the city without having to be tested negative for the coronavirus from July 4, Mr Pan Xuhong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Public Security, said on Friday (July 3).
Hainan cuts jet fuel prices for Chinese and foreign airlines
>> The Hainan authorities starting from July 1 reduced aviation fuel prices for Chinese and foreign airlines at the island's three airports. At all the three airports, the price per tonne for Chinese aviation fuel was reduced by RMB 50 (USD 7), and the cost of comprehensive maintenance of aviation fuel stored in customs warehouses was reduced by USD 100 per tonne. Reducing the price of jet fuel will allow Chinese and foreign airlines to take advantage of the province's free trade port.
First airlines go live with Skyscanner’s new options and ancillaries direct booking
>> A new airfare retailing experience launched by Skyscanner is allowing airlines to show all options and ancillaries at the start of the customer journey. The metasearch site’s new Fare Families functionality has been optimised for mobile within the firm’s direct booking platform. Accessible pricing (51%) and clear airline policies (49%) were named as the top types of information travellers would look for once COVID restrictions were lifted, according to a Skyscanner survey.
China Southern Airlines to redeploy widebody capacity to domestic market
>> China Southern Airlines plans to redeploy its widebody capacity from international market to the domestic market, particularly on high-frequency routes such as Chengdu, Xian, Kunming and Hangzhou.
Cirque du Soleil's losses were mounting even before pandemic
>> Interest payments were already draining the bottom line at Cirque du Soleil before the COVID-19 pandemic froze its revenues, according to a report by the monitor in its bankruptcy protection case. Ernst & Young, the firm overseeing Cirque’s restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in Canada, said its net loss increased to USD 80 million last year from USD10.2 million in 2017.
A creditors’ group has said a proposal by existing shareholders - TPG, the Caisse and China’s Fosun International - to restructure the live performance company is “doomed to fail” and there is no chance they will accept it.
