The Chinese-owned Thomas Cook brand relaunched Wednesday as an online travel agency following the British group's collapse last year.
"The new 'COVID-ready' travel company will initially sell holidays to destinations on the government's safe travel corridor list," said Thomas Cook, which is owned by Fosun Tourism Group.
"Thomas Cook has a proud heritage and after acquiring the brand last year we wanted to quickly return it to its home in the UK," said Fosun's chairman and chief executive, Jim Qian.
"Supporting the growth of the brand in China and its relaunch in the UK is a big step in our plan to turn Thomas Cook into a global success story and a key milestone in the development of the Fosun Tourism Group's strategy," he said.
Fosun, which also owns France-based resort giant Club Med, acquired the brand and online assets of Thomas Cook in November.
Thomas Cook's demise one year ago sparked 22,000 job losses worldwide and triggered Britain's biggest repatriation since World War II, with the government paying to fly home 140,000 stranded tourists.
The 178-year-old British company had declared bankruptcy after an attempt to secure $250 million from private investors fell through.
Thomas Cook's stores across the UK had struggled against fierce online competition, while the company had blamed Brexit uncertainty for a drop in bookings before its collapse.
The government is seeking to create “travel bubbles” with China, South Korea, Japan and Australia, which are known for their achievements in handling the COVID-19 outbreak, as the nation enters its so-called new normal period.
The term “travel bubble”, or “travel corridor”, refers to an agreement in which countries succeeding in containing the outbreak open their borders to each other to allow free movement within the bubble.
The Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister’s undersecretary for tourism and the creative economy, Oto Manuhutu, said his office was discussing the matter with the Foreign Ministry as well as the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry.
“The four countries were chosen because many tourists and foreign investors in Indonesia come from those countries,” Oto said on Friday, as quoted by Antara.
Despite the plan, he added that business-people would probably be the first and only ones to travel to and from those countries in the near future. “Hopefully, tourists will gradually follow to visit [Indonesia] after the investors.”
Oto went on to say that the Foreign Ministry was discussing the requirements for travel bubbles before signing agreements with the four countries.
“The travel bubbles would open two to four weeks after the agreements are signed while taking into consideration health, security and technical aspects,” said Oto.
Experts have said that the government’s move to ease COVID-19 restrictions might worsen conditions, as the country has yet to reach its peak in the epidemiological curve.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the company's collapse was "very sad news for staff and holidaymakers".
He urged holidaymakers to be "understanding with staff" amid the "enormous" task of bringing people home.
Mr Shapps has announced that the government and CAA has hired dozens of charter planes to fly customers home free of charge.
The emergency operation, codenamed Operation Matterhorn, is aiming to bring home Britons currently on holiday with the firm.
On Sunday, empty aircraft had already started to be flown overseas, ready to bring British tourists home on Monday.
One of the world's best known holiday brands, the business was founded in 1841 in Leicestershire by cabinet-maker Thomas Cook.
How will holidaymakers get home?
All
customers currently abroad with Thomas Cook who are booked to return to
the UK over the next two weeks will be brought home "as close as
possible" to their booked return date, the Department for Transport
(DfT) has said.
Customers will be brought home to the UK on special free flights or booked onto another scheduled airline at no extra cost.
The DfT added that a "small number" of passengers may need to book their own flight home and reclaim the costs.
Customers
have been urged not to cut short their holiday or go to the airport
without checking the website for more information about their return
journey.
The CAA is also contacting hotels accommodating Thomas
Cook customers, who have booked as part of a package, to tell them that
the cost of their accommodation will be covered by the government,
through the Air Travel Trust Fund and Air Travel Organiser's Licence
scheme (Atol).
The CAA said in a statement: "All Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled.
"We know that a company with such long-standing history ceasing
trading will be very distressing for its customers and employees and our
thoughts are with everyone affected by this news."
Tim Johnson,
policy director of the CAA, told BBC News it has chartered "more than
40" aircraft, which are already in position, to bring passengers home.
He
urged customers in the UK who were due to travel not to go to the
airport "because very sadly your flight has been cancelled".
Mr
Johnson added: "For those who have not yet started their holiday, we
will be publishing details of how they can claim a refund on the
website, no later than next Monday."
Business Secretary Andrea
Leadsom has said she will write to the Insolvency Service urging them to
"fast-track" their investigation into the circumstances surrounding
Thomas Cook going into liquidation.
The DfT said the investigation will also consider the conduct of the directors.
Travel expert Simon Calder told BBC News that planes at Manchester
airport have already begun to be impounded following news of the
collapse.
"Shortly after midnight, we saw the airport putting a
notice of detention on some Thomas Cook aircraft because of unpaid
airport bills," he said.
What went wrong?
Thomas
Cook had secured a £900m rescue deal led by its largest shareholder
Chinese firm Fosun in August, but a recent demand from its lending banks
to raise a further £200m in contingency funding had put the deal in
doubt.
Fosun said in a statement it was "disappointed" following news of the collapse.
It
added: "Fosun confirms that its position remained unchanged throughout
the process, but unfortunately other factors have changed.
"We extend our deepest sympathy to all those affected by this outcome."
The
holiday company had spent all Sunday in talks with lenders trying to
secure the additional funding and salvage the deal, but to no avail.
It had also asked the government for financial aid, a solution also urged by Labour and union groups.
Customers
on a package holiday have Atol protection - a fund paid for through
industry levies - which will cover the cost of their holiday and
repatriation.
Thomas Cook has blamed a series of issues for its
problems including political unrest in holiday destinations such as
Turkey, last summer's prolonged heatwave and customers delaying booking
holidays because of Brexit.
But the firm has also faced fierce competition from online travel agents and low-cost airlines.
In addition, many holidaymakers are putting together their own holidays and not using travel agents.
What are your rights?
If you are on a package holiday you are covered by the Atol scheme.
The scheme will pay for your accommodation abroad, although you may have to move to a different hotel or apartment.
Atol will also pay to have you brought home if the airline is no longer operating.
If you have holiday booked in the future you will also be refunded by the scheme.
If
you have booked a flight-only deal you will need to apply to your
travel insurance company or credit card and debit card provider to seek a
refund.
When Monarch Airlines collapsed in 2017, the government
organised to bring home all the stranded passengers, whether they were
covered by Atol or not.
Are
you a Thomas Cook customer or member of staff? If you've been affected
by the issues raised here, you can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
Phnom Penh, Battambang, and Siem Reap have been included in the Asean Smart Cities Network, and will benefit from the assistance of the Japanese government in creating technologically advanced urban spaces.
The Asean Smart Cities Network (ASCN) is a collaborative platform where cities from Asean member states work towards the common goal of smart and sustainable urban development. The project is supported by the Japanese government.
The chosen Cambodian cities will benefit from Japanese investment into modern facilities to improve the lives of their citizens, according to representatives of the Japanese government who yesterday attended the first meeting of the ‘Public-Private Platform for Urban Development between Cambodia and Japan’.
The forum – attended by 58 Japanese delegates and companies as well Cambodian officials and members of the private sector – served to introduce ASCN to local authorities and companies.
Yuki Fumihiko, Japan’s Vice Minister of Land, said that given Cambodia’s rapid development, careful urban planning must be prioritised.
He said the ‘Public-Private Platform for Urban Development between Cambodia and Japan’ will allow Cambodia and Japan to keep an open line of communication to discuss urban development.
Ozawa Kazuo, counsellor for global strategies at Japan’s Ministry of Land, said ASCN allows the region to benefit from Japan’s experience in urban planning.
“Our goal is to help Cambodia and Asean avoid the same mistakes that we made in the past in urban development.
“We want to create smart cities that use modern technologies to tackle planning, development, management and operation issues.
“The ultimate goal is to create better spaces for future generations so that they can live comfortably and sustainably in urban spaces,” he said, adding that the programme focuses on key issues like traffic, green spaces, energy efficiency, and recycling systems, among others.
“Today we seek your support and cooperation to bring what we have already achieved in other countries to Cambodia. Together we can make this project a success,” he told his audience.
Chea Sophara, the Cambodian Minister of Land Management, said, “The platform today seeks to boost investment opportunities in urban development for Japanese businesses, including residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, as well as infrastructure. “This first platform is a very good initiative and shows the confidence Japanese investors have in Cambodia. I believe this programme will further strengthen the relationship between our nations.
.
.
“The ministry is ready to support Japanese investors who want to participate in the programme. The government supports this initiative of the Japanese government which will benefit Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Battambang,” he added.
Mr Fumihiko invited all Cambodian officials and businesspeople at the event to participate in ASCN’s next high-level meeting, which will take place in Tokyo in October.
The President’s plan is designed to protect indigenous peoples in the highlands from being exploited by communist rebels
President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to develop ancestral domain lands
with the help of investors would protect the indigenous peoples from
being exploited and influenced by communist rebels, Malacañang assured
on Saturday.
Defending the idea, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said “all
of the data” show that the New People’s Army (NPA) was exploiting the
Lumad by turning them into insurgents.
Mr. Duterte was aware that the biggest problem that the Lumad face was poverty, Roque said.
“That is why (the President) said we could allow investors to enter
(ancestral domain lands) so that there would be jobs, and hunger would
be reduced in Lumad communities,” he said in a press briefing in Ilocos
Norte.
“If the number of jobs increases in Lumad communities, the NPA’s
influence over them would wane. This means the NPA would no longer
forcibly take them and turn them into fighters,” he added.
Mr. Duterte had earlier threatened to bomb Lumad schools for
supposedly spreading subversive ideas and teaching students to rebel
against the government.
.
.
Risk of displacement
As for concerns that the Lumad communities run the risk of being
displaced if investors were allowed to develop their ancestral lands,
Roque said there were laws covering ancestral domains.
He said the plight of the Lumad had attained some urgency because of
the assertion of the UN special rapporteur on indigenous communities
that the government was violating their rights.
The President broached the idea of developing ancestral domain lands
with the help of investors at a summit of indigenous peoples’ leaders on
Thursday in Davao City.
During the event, he also vowed to provide P100 million to fund agriculture development in Lumad areas.
A mechanism for foreign investors and organisations to take part
in the Yangon Stock Exchange is under development, according to Myanmar
Securities Exchange Centre.
Daily stock trading in Myanmar has declined significantly and the
market is sluggish. In order to revive the trading activities, a system
to include non-Myanmar investors from various sectors must be developed,
MSEC executive director Takashi Takahashi said.
The MSEC and the
Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) are in collaboration, he said during a
stock exchange education talk held at Parkroyal Hotel on July 19.
“To
make the Myanmar stock market active, what is necessary now is to
develop a system to include investors from various sectors.
“If
that system is successful, there will be more investors in the market.
Right now, there is also a need to attract individual investors,” he
said.
The average volume of daily stock trading in June 2016 was
K313 million but it declined to merely K70 million in June 2017,
resulting in a significant decrease.
Myanmar stock index, with its base point at 1000 on March 25, 2016, dropped to 552.62 on July 11, 2017.
“We can assume that the change is due to traders shunning the market as the stock prices are stagnant.
“To revive the market, it is necessary to have more listed companies and more traders,” Mr Takahashi added.
Under the existing Myanmar Companies Act, a company where a foreigner
has any share is defined as a foreign company. Companies listed on the
YSX have many restrictions in selling their shares to foreigners.
The
government is currently working on a new Companies Act and the draft
piece of legislation has been submitted to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. In
the new law, a domestic company is allowed to have up to 30pc foreign
investment.
“Without the participation of wealthy foreigners,
domestic stock market will remain slack. An individual local investor
cannot invest much.
“For foreigners to take part, the Companies
Act must be amended,” Myanmar Agriculture Public (MAPCO) executive
director U Ye Min Aung told The Myanmar Times.
There are only
about 30,000 securities accounts opened for stock trading in the YSX.
Compared to the national population, it is a very small fraction, with
only 0.05pc per head.
Those are accounts owned by individuals, and not
organisation-based accounts.
The YSX, which was established in
December 2015, only has four listed companies on board, while Laos and
Cambodia have five listed ones each. In contrast, Vietnam boasts 695
companies and Thailand 731 companies.
“In other countries,
foreign investors are allowed to take part. Moreover, banks and
insurance firms are seen to be actively trading in the stock market,” Mr
Takahashi said.
