Ep 85: 2021: The Year So Far in Singapore, with Karen Yue

It’s been an up-and-down year in Singapore.

An accelerated vaccine programme offers real hope of emerging from the pandemic but a return almost to normality was halted by two recent COVID-19 clusters and new movement restrictions. Overlapping this, the government’s transition to an “Endemic Covid” framework should mean quarantine-free travel will soon be possible for vaccinated travellers.

So, this week, Gary and Hannah tackle a range of key issues from the year so far with Karen Yue, who is Group Editor of Singapore-based TTG Asia.

The broad-ranging interview discusses the challenges of catering to domestic tourism in such a small nation, and the creative success of the Cruises to Nowhere initiative.

We asses the outlook for Singapore’s two high-profile potential travel bubbles, with Hong Kong and Australia, and ponder which nations might be included in the first-phase reopening from September onwards.

Plus, we find out about the current appetite for overseas travel among Singaporeans, and the destinations topping their bucket lists after 18 months of closed borders.