Welcome to the Air Traveler Club – Tiket2's weekly newsletter about the current state of tourism and international travel. You can check our up-to-date list of countries reopened for tourism.

Weekly roundup

1)  Air VnV: Wealthy people from Indonesia, Thailand, and Taiwan fly overseas to skip vaccine queues at home and get a jab.

2)  Qatar Airways: 2,500 bonus miles for new members (no activity required) plus 5,000 miles and 50 Qpoints upon completing one flight with Qatar Airways.

3)  Thailand suspends most domestic flights starting July 21, due to record numbers of Covid-19 cases. Flights to and from Bangkok (and other high-risk regions) will be halted indefinitely, until the epidemic situation improves.

4)  Asia’s two most popular resort islands, Phuket in Thailand and Indonesia’s Bali, have been in a race to see which would reopen to international tourists first.

5)  Philippines: The travel ban for those coming from Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman, and the UAE has been extended until the end of July.

6)  As arrivals to Australia remain under strict limits, all visitors must now declare Covid vaccination. The new declaration form shows how post-pandemic travel is taking shape, along with vaccination passport apps and mandatory Covid tests. 

7)  After 62 days at sea, 356 buckets of water, and months of hitchhiking on yachts across the globe, this Australian couple is almost home.

8)  Why AirAsia is still waiting for its recovery to begin.

9) Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City turns into a ghost town under Covid-19 lockdown. 300 police checkpoints have been set up around the city, and mobile police regularly patrol the streets.

10) The Covid travel checklist: what to know before you go. If you're making your first flight for a while, things may be very different from what you've previously been used to.

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