Home-sharing platform Xiaozhu partners with lifestyle social network Xiaohongshu
>> China’s home-sharing platform Xiaozhu has formed a strategic partnership with Xiaohongshu, a popular lifestyle sharing network for young people. Through the deal, Xiaozhu is connected to the social network portal to provide direct home-sharing booking service. In the future, Xiaozhu will provide services to other home-sharing brands on Xiaohongshu, such as management systems, content and live-streaming campaigns.
US considers travel ban on millions of China Communist party members
>> The US is reportedly considering imposing travel restrictions on Chinese Communist party members amid a deepening row, with president Donald Trump saying further sanctions were possible and Beijing vowing retaliation. The proposed US travel ban could apply to as many as 92 million party members.
Shanghai Disneyland increases guest capacity while Hong Kong park closed
>> Disney parks chief Josh D’Amaro said they have been “pretty pleased” overall with Shanghai Disneyland which reopened on May 11 and has been running at 30% capacity, and they are now increasing capacity for the park. While Shanghai Disneyland is beginning to increase the capacity level, Hong Kong Disneyland had to close down its park once again due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.
China suspends two Thailand flights over COVID-19 cases
>> China's civil aviation regulator has announced that a Thai Lion Air's Bangkok-Guangzhou flight, as well as a Thai AirAsia X's Bangkok-Tianjin flight, would be suspended after several passengers tested positive for COVID-19 on recent flights.
To further contain the spread of COVID-19, a reward and suspension mechanism was introduced by the CAAC on June 4. If all inbound passengers on an airline test negative for novel coronavirus for three weeks in a row, the operating airline will be allowed to increase its number of flights to two per week.
Business thrives again at Hongqiao airport
>> More international brands and eateries have opened at Hongqiao airport to serve increasing demand during the summer travel peak. The airport has handled about 100,000 passengers a day since July 10, over 80% of its usual capacity. An average of 714 flights had taken off and landed at the airport, the same as last year.
Trip.com inks deal to promote Tibet tourism
>> Trip.com Group has inked a strategic cooperation deal with Xigaze in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region to promote local tourism, the group said. The online travel company will participate in formulating a three-year action plan for the high-quality development of the culture and tourism industry in Xigaze.
Huazhu sees improvement in Q2 operation results
>> Huazhu Group reported a 38% drop in RevPAR for the second quarter this year, while its occupancy rate declined by 18 percentage points during the time. That's an improvement as Huazhu recorded a 58% RevPAR decrease in the first quarter while occupancy rate dropped by 41 percentage points in Q1. Same-hotel RevPAR dropped 40.8% in the second quarter, and 52.8% in the first quarter. Huazhu expects net revenues to decline 32% to 34% in the second quarter, or 35% to 37% if excluding Deutsche Hospitality.
