Tourism news roundup: Singapore beach partially reopens after oil spill, plus more headlines

For PropertyGuru’s tourism news roundup, two beach areas at East Coast Park in Singapore reopened to the public after an oil spill last month. In other updates, tourism industry leaders had high expectations following a bilateral meeting between the Cambodian and Thai tourism ministers. And finally, Hong Kong’s street restaurants have gradually disappeared despite being popular among tourists and locals, thanks to the hostility of government officials.

Singapore’s East Coast Park beach partially reopens after oil spill

Two areas of the beach at East Coast Park reopen to the public on Monday, 22nd July, after an oil spill last month. Cleaning at East Coast Park areas B and E has been completed and the cordon has been lifted. The other areas – C, D, F, G and H – remain closed. No timeline was provided on when these remaining sections would reopen.

“Non-primary contact water sports, such as kayaking, conducted from both areas (B and E) can resume,” said the National Environment Agency (NEA) in a media advisory on Monday. “While it is safe to use the beach, the public is advised not to swim or undertake primary contact water sports such as wakeboarding and stand-up paddling in the beach waters.”

The agency said in a CNA report that it continues to monitor beach water quality and water activities can fully resume only when the water quality returns to normal.

On 14th June, a Netherlands-flagged dredger hit a stationary bunker vessel, causing oil from the latter’s damaged cargo tank to spill into the water.

Tourism leaders optimistic about the meeting between the Cambodian tourism minister and Thai counterpart

Tourism industry leaders had high expectations following a bilateral meeting between the Cambodian and Thai tourism ministers. They urged Thai tourism operators to encourage international tourists who visit the neighbouring country to extend their tour to Cambodia, according to a report by The Phnom Penh Post.

Minister of Tourism Sok Soken met yesterday and today with his Thai counterpart Sermsak Pongpanich in Bangkok, Thailand. The 17th to 18th July meetings were the third such bilateral ministerial meetings since their cooperation was forged ten years ago.

According to the tourism ministry, the discussions were held in the spirit of the implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Tourism Cooperation between Cambodia and Thailand.

Hong Kong’s traditional street food stalls – popular with residents and tourists, less so with officials

One of Hong Kong’s traditional attractions is the street restaurant, or dai pai dong, which offers tourists the alluring prospect of a local meal in the open air. Years ago, you found them all over the place; Luard Road, for example. A much wider road than traffic required, the Wan Chai thoroughfare was regularly reduced to two lanes by a row of street food stalls on each side.

Over the years they have gradually disappeared. This does not appear to be the result of a lack of custom. Most observers diagnose a classic case of official hostility.

The official line, as articulated by Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan in HKFP, is that if there are any “suitable proposals which are supported by the relevant District Councils, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) will consider with an open mind.” He did warn that it is “very challenging to identify suitable sites.”

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].