Fully Restarting Tourism

In my earlier article “Special Theme Q2 2022 – Fully Restarting Tourism“, we are finally opening up again, more people are expected to travel again over the next few months. While we are absolutely delighted in fully restarting tourism, this is not going to be an immediate change/recovery. All these things and changes are going to take a bit of time to get up to speed, from both demand and supply side of things, my personal estimation is that it would start to peak in Q3 (June school holidays) or Q4 2022 (year end school holidays, year end Christmas festive season). 

For those who are ready to travel, we still have to be mindful, be safe, practice safety and health measures. Scott Dunn has handled many unexpected global situations and travel emergencies for guests over the last 30 years, their team has the experience and expertise in keeping guests safe on their travels, from before they depart to returning home. There are two scenarios presented by Scott Dunn that are still relevant especially during this period when the global pandemic is still ongoing. Both scenarios are first-hand personal experiences – (1) Testing positive right before a flight and (2) Testing positive during a trip.

(1) Testing Positive right before a flight

What should I do if I test positive before departing for my trip? Scott Dunn’s Service and Sales Manager, Sheena, tested positive for COVID-19 three days before she was due to fly to the US for business meetings. At that time, a negative pre-departure PCR test was required before she could board the plane and there was a stipulated seven day recovery period before you were deemed “fully recovered” and released from SHN. As such, Sheena was unable to recover in time to board her scheduled flight to the US.

Here are Sheena’s experiences and tips on handling this situation.

What is the first thing one should do when you have upcoming travel plans but test positive?

If you get a positive result on a self administered ART test but feel relatively well or have mild symptoms, I would recommend visiting a Combined Test Centre (CTC) or Quick Test Centre (QTC) to undergo a supervised ART and have your results documented. Such results of infection as supervised at the CTC/QTCs can be used as proof of recovery for exemption from Singapore’s border measures. For those who don’t feel well, it’s good to see a doctor or do a teleconsult with one. Depending on your age/vaccination status, you should receive a recovery memo on either Day 7/14 which can also be used for travel purposes (more for entering destinations than departing Singapore)

While pre-departure tests in Singapore are no longer required, it’ll be good to wait till you test negative before you start travelling. It’s the socially responsible thing to do and I personally think it’s good to recover and be feeling 100% before you embark on any adventures! Also, it’s good practice to refer to the relevant destination countries’ border measure requirements to ensure you are able to fulfil them before going ahead with any travel plans.

Once the medical side of things are settled, be sure to reach out to your insurance provider to log a case so that you will have a reference number for when you wish to upload your supporting documents for insurance claims. It is important to always make sure you purchase comprehensive travel insurance with COVID coverage that will satisfy your requirements based on your own lifestyle or concerns.

Finally, you can then proceed to cancel or postpone all your travel arrangements and remember to request for cancellation invoices or notes as supporting documents for the claim later on – all largely dependent on your insurance policy of course!

Are there precautions one should still take after making a recovery?

Don’t be complacent after your recovery! There’s still the possibility of being reinfected, so err on the side of caution. Personally for me, I tried to take it easy and avoided heavy workouts for the 1-2 weeks following my recovery, thinking it’d be good to let my body rest and recover fully.

Is it still worth taking the risk to travel?

Most of us have had no international travel in the past 2 years, so I think cabin fever is real.  Prior to this incident, I had the opportunity to travel to London for a work trip and having gotten so used to our current environment here, the change of scenery was really nice and refreshing. I personally still think it is worth venturing out (when you feel comfortable enough to) and after my London trip, I felt more confident and assured after going through all the processes in person once. In fact, I’ve booked a few other personal trips for the year after returning from my work trip to London.

What are some of your top pandemic era travel tips?

My three top tips would be to –

• Ensure that you are purchasing a comprehensive insurance plan – don’t skimp on it.
• Remember to double check destination entry requirements when you are nearing your departure dates. Sometimes there may have been updates or changes, so it’s good to confirm instead of rushing or panicking at the last minute.
• COVID is all around us, so it’s good to maintain safety measures such as washing your hands, refrain from touching your face and if there are large crowds, it’s still a good idea to mask up!

Is it worth working with a travel operator for an upcoming trip?

I think the pandemic has definitely allowed the value of travel operators like Scott Dunn to shine through. While measures have now eased off significantly, when travel was first allowed to resume, many were confused and frustrated with the ever-evolving entry and departure requirements. This is where guests really turned to us for help and guidance when it came to planning and going on holidays. Also, having not travelled for two years, many of our guests are relying on us to help guide them through any new requirements, allowing them to enjoy their long-awaited getaways fuss-free.

Additionally, we also have a 24/7 emergency hotline, which provides comfort and reassurance to our guests as they know they have someone to call for help no matter where they are or what time it is.

(2) Testing positive during a trip

What should I do if I test positive while on holiday/prior to my flight home? Scott Dunn’s travel specialist, Jean, had tested positive for COVID during a pre-departure PCR test prior to her flight back to Singapore from Sweden. On her week-long work trip in Sweden, Jean started to experience symptoms such as sore throat, cough, and fatigue but continued to test negative daily on self-administered ARTs. As a negative test was required for her to board the flight then, Jean was unable to return home on her originally scheduled flight.

Here are Jean’s experiences and tips on handling this situation.

What should travellers do if they start to feel unwell on their trip?

It’s good practice to pack sufficient ART test kits when travelling so that if you feel unwell, you can always do a self-administered test to monitor your own personal situation, especially with COVID all around us. I also usually pack a small pouch of medicines such as some panadols, some flu tablets and medicine for upset tummies. At Scott Dunn, when we have guests that feel unwell, they can let us know and we will help make the necessary arrangements to bring them to the nearest healthcare facility or get a doctor to do a hotel visit.

What should one do after testing positive overseas or prior to their return flight home?

While pre-departure tests are no longer required to enter Singapore for fully vaccinated travellers, it’s good to be socially responsible and wait till you test negative or wait out the 7 day recovery period before returning home if possible.

Also, try to self-isolate so you don’t spread the virus to your travel companions or others- ie you may need to stay in another hotel room from your travel companions to avoid spreading it to them etc. You should also inform the hotel of your diagnosis so that the staff can take any necessary precautions or let you know if they accommodate COVID+ travellers. You may also want to switch to a more affordable hotel/alternative accomodation to recover before heading home.

Be sure to reach out to your travel insurance company and let them know of the situation as soon as you can so that you will be able to make claims when you return home. As you proceed to cancel or postpone your travel arrangements, do remember to request for cancellation invoices or notes as supporting documents for the claim later on.

Any tips to help mitigate such a situation? 

As we are living in a pandemic era and you never know what may happen, it’s good to ensure you have extra backup cash in the destination’s currency while travelling – in case you need to extend your trip and cash is not widely accepted in your destination. Other than packing a small pouch of medicine, I would also encourage you to pack some small packets of laundry detergents. You may need to wash some pre-worn clothes if you end up staying longer than expected. Laundry services at the hotel can add up quite quickly! Pack extra ART test kits – these may be more costly in other countries plus if you do test negative before your stipulated date of departure, at least you can go out for some sight-seeing or shopping!

Are there any post-travel precautions to take, or any tips should travellers test positive upon returning home?

If you have travelled overseas in the last 10 days, and test positive on an ART upon your return home, you’ll need to go for a confirmatory PCR test. You can head to a Swab and Send Home Clinic or Combined Test Centre to see the doctor and get the PCR test done. It’s also good practice to inform the doctor of your travel history and positive ART result. Then try to rest up and focus on recovering!

What are some of your top tips to keep safe while travelling?

I would strongly encourage travellers to:

• Wear a mask during flights and ensure that you sanitise often.
• Try to avoid crowded areas where people are not wearing masks. (Pro tip: Hop on a private tour where possible. With a private guide, driver and car, you can minimise your contact with the crowds.)
• Always purchase travel insurance enough to cover medical and hotel costs if you contract COVID whilst travelling. If you do contract the virus while travelling, inform your insurance company as soon as you can to open a case file for you to submit your test results and daily claims when you return.

Is it still worth taking the risk to travel?

As an avid traveller myself, I still think it’s worth it to take the risks and travel as we will have to learn to live with COVID eventually. After all, even if you don’t travel, there’s still a chance of contracting COVID in Singapore as well. I would highly encourage travellers to get their booster shots so that in the event they do contract it, the symptoms would be mild.

Is it worth working with a travel operator for an upcoming trip?

The perk of travelling with a travel operator is that we understand the high emotional stress such unforeseen or unexpected incidents can bring – especially so when you or a loved one is feeling unwell, and we will be there to step in and help so that your focus can be on recovering and getting better.

Additionally, with our strong connections with local suppliers and partners on ground – as a Scott Dunn guest, you’re well looked after no matter which part of the world you are in. I think it’s comforting and reassuring to know that you know you are in good hands and not alone, stranded in a foreign country.

* Information and pictures courtesy of Scott Dunn and White Label PR *

The post A Pandemic Era Travel Guide by Scott Dunn appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Special Theme Q2 2022 – Fully Restarting Tourism 

Why such a theme “Fully Restarting Tourism”? This was a follow up from my June 2021 article on “When Can We Restart Tourism”, at that particular period in time, the world was still caught in between opening up and managing the global pandemic situation.

Fast forward three quarters into Q2 2022, the global pandemic situation is under better control and getting more stable, although the world is not of the woods yet. We can start to see more countries opening up their borders and restrictions, the activities have started to kick in, with tourism organisations ramping up their publicity, awareness and marketing campaigns, along with many other industry players from the travel, tourism aviation and hospitality industries. 

That’s how I personally view it, “Fully Restarting Tourism”, finally! However, my personal analysis are that while we are absolutely delighted in fully restarting tourism, this is not an immediate change/recovery. Things and changes are going to take a bit of time to get up to speed, from both demand and supply side of things, my personal estimation is that it would start to peak in Q3 (June school holidays) or Q4 2022 (year end school holidays, year end Christmas festive season). 

Call for media pitches from travel, tourism, aviation and hospitality industries 

For my special theme Q2 2022 – Fully restarting tourism. I am inviting a call for media pitches from travel, tourism, aviation and hospitality industries around the world, not just from Singapore or from regional countries.

Whether you are travel industry players with forecasts and insights, destination travel and tourism marketing companies/agencies, travel stories for your community tourism. For the Singapore market, I am open to discussions/collaborations with inbound tourism or outbound tourism industry players too.

The deadline for my pitches is 30th June 2022. This special theme “Fully Restarting Tourism” would be my key topics for Q2 and Q3 2022, with a possible extension into Q4 2022, depending on how the world travel and tourism industries move during the next few months. 

Wanderlust Dreams, Hopes, and Plans

During this period, I hope there would be opportunities opening up again either for travel photography/writing assignments/commissioned work. However, I won’t mind familiarisation media trips too if that opportunity arises. 

I have a number of countries that I would like to visit again soon. For short haul travel trips, I might start off with regional countries Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. As for long haul travel trips, I would visit Japan first before planning other countries with Europe likely my next destination. 

For all fellow travel writers, photographers and wanderlusts, I think it is safe to say that we are fully restarting tourism. 

The post Special Theme Q2 2022 – Fully Restarting Tourism appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Photography by Ryan Cheng

Before I go into my planning, goals and objectives for Q4 2021. First, let me take a short trip back in time to Q1 to Q3 2021.

Reflecting Q1 to Q3 2021

Entering into time machine mode, let’s go back in time to a few months back in 2021. 

Q1 2021

In Q1 2021, I was secretly and cautiously optimistic about 2021 that it would be a year of recovery albeit at a much slower pace. Looking back at this point, it wasn’t this scenario at all, more of a complete opposite instead. 

Q2 2021

Moving into Q2 2021, I was celebrating and marking 15 years of TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog in April 2021. Things look pretty alright until May 2021 when I got myself into a sticky and messy situation that is not helped with Phase 2 Heightened Alert (P2HA) situation. I was lost , shared through my reflections, thoughts and feelings during June 2021 with fate and time. I was kind of depressed, my mental and emotional health wasn’t in a good shape, I spiralled downwards to the bottom, got stuck in a rut, reaching a tipping point. I had a few dark periods in my life till date, this period would be right up there with my other dark periods.

Q3 2021

Moving from Q2 to Q3, I slowly got myself out, thanks to a few friends who pulled me out from the rut. This started a period of making further pivots and changes. This was followed by Reflecting H1 2021, new themes for photography and travel in H2 2021 and some photography, travel and updates in August 2021. 

During this period as I pivoted, changed and reorganised, those changes needed some time too. Opportunities come and go, sometimes you get them, sometimes you lose them. 

Photography by Isaac Ong

Plans for Q4 2021

Entering into Q4 2021, what are plans, goals and objectives for Q4 2021? My main theme that I wrote down earlier in my introductory paragraph above is, “Survival”. I am pulling all my brains, mind, soul, as well as pulling strings, networks, connections to survive. Just by saying it’s very tough is an understatement of the predicament and ground level situation that some small and medium sized businesses are facing. 

Photography

In my area of commercial photography services, I made a switch into other photography genres in the portraiture segments, covering leisure, family, pets as well as corporate portraiture. Although there is a school of thought that teaches us to specialise in one or two genres, the fallout from this global pandemic has shown that specialising in one or two genres have its pitfalls too. Having a few more specialisations will be very helpful for future-proofing, not just in the photography industry, in other industries as well.   

I have also made a move back into doing wedding photography, both pre-wedding and actual day wedding photography. When the economy returns back to a more normal and stable level, I would  relook into my photography services portfolio again. 

Zine 

Initially, I have plans for what I want to produce and achieve in publishing zines, an outreach for my photography, writing and content creation. At the forefront, I wanted to publish a zine commemorating 15 years of TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog milestone and a special project to seek funding on a segment of my documentary photography works that I did some years back. Due to unforeseen circumstances, both external and internal factors, those two zine projects were put on hold, I would relook at them in Q1 2022. 

My focus is now on a photography therapy zine, an inspiration that came from my nature therapy walks during Q2 to Q3 2021 when I went trekking into nature and outdoors, with my camera and lenses, photographing landscapes, light rays, bringing me peace and tranquility. 

NFT / Digital Arts

I embarked on the digital arts journey some time back on Makersplace platform. At that point in time, I didn’t do enough homework/research and preparation before entering into this space. While NFT has recently received quite a lot of limelight and attention from the creatives industry, I am doing more homework/research before I go more full in-depth into this platform to showcase my curated photography works.

Keep a lookout for my updates in the NFT / Digital Arts segment in Q4 2021! 

Travel and Tourism

I would love to travel out again, just like pre-covid time for my travel photography and holiday. While I don’t have a timeline on when we can safely travel again, I would have to wait patiently for the time to arrive while I concentrate on my photography business and building up my digital agency business. 

When can we restart tourism? I asked myself again on World Tourism Day 2021. Many of us wanderlusts are searching for this answer too. Meanwhile, I am networking with travel and tourism folks, from travel agencies, Travel Talk on Twitter (TTOT) community and travelers from all over the world. When it’s safe to travel again, I would share more on them if the universe and stars alignment for my travel photography fall into place.  

Emotional / Mental Health

To be honest with everyone reading this article, I am still, and have been mentally and emotionally very fatigued for a lengthy period of time, the worst period was probably in May and June 2021. We are all exhausted battling this ongoing global pandemic, its economic, social, emotional and mental fallout and onslaught on our work and daily living. 

Running your own small sole-proprietorship photography business is already very challenging and tough. Throw in a global pandemic situation and it just magnifies many times more. 

How many would really know, feel and understand how small and medium sized businesses are feeling and coping right now in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic? 

When can we see the light at the end of the tunnel?

When can we see the light at the end of the tunnel? We have been asking ourselves this question all these time during this ongoing global pandemic. 

Help local small and medium sized businesses by referring clients to them, through word of mouth or do a shoutout for them on your social media platforms. Please don’t judge, please be kind, everyone one of us is trying and working very hard to survive this global pandemic situation. 

All of us, just want to survive and get out of this ongoing global pandemic situation, returning back to a more normal life during pre-covid days, although we will most likely unable to return back to those days. 

That’s basically in a nutshell, my main theme, my plan, my goal for Q4 2021 – Survival. 

The post Reflecting Q3 2021 and Plans for Q4 2021 appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Ever since I was inspired by Fernando Gros article on having a yearly theme (his yearly theme for 2021 is Imagination) instead of our usual goals settings and objectives, I wrote and published two articles, Theme and Goals for Year 2020 (Photography and Travel) and  Theme and Goals for Year 2020 (Technology and Personal). I can’t imagine how much it would have changed just two months after that when the global pandemic COVID-19 started to hit the whole world. 

If you are interested to learn and know more about setting a yearly theme, you have to check out “How to Choose a Yearly Theme” by Fernando Gros. 

My approach to the yearly theme is slightly different, I have two themes for Year 2021 and they are Recovery and Rejuvenation. How would these two themes come into my photography and travel segments? 

Photography

Photography Business

On my business side of photography, another challenging year looms ahead. Basically, adapt, adopt and change, rebranding and repositioning. Photography training is on the cards too. 

Personal Photography 

On my personal side of photography, I am planning to produce and publish more zines since the launch of my first zine – TGH Photography Zine Vol 1 – SG55 Special Edition, they could be special themes or projects based zines from my personal projects. 

15th Anniversary photography blog milestone 

April 2021 would be the 15th anniversary of this photography portal/blog! More information and details on this milestone celebration coming soon. 

On both business and personal photography fronts, if there are suitable collaborations and partnerships to build up on top of my existing ones, I am open to discussions. At the current moment, I have build up networks of videographers, video editors, editors for my content writing, digital marketing and social media marketing partners. 

Travel

International Travel 

Based on the current global situation and pandemic status at this juncture in time, international leisure travel is not likely to open soon. An optimistic view would be international travel reopening in the third quarter of 2021, the harsh reality is most likely 2022 instead. 

Meanwhile, I just prepare my travel research and travel networking on destinations that I highly want to visit when international travel and tourism recovers. 

SingapoRediscovers a.k.a. Explore your own backyard

No doubt that Singapore is really a small country by land size, we do have our own nature areas, heritage, culture and outdoors areas. I have started revisiting places in Singapore that I haven’t visit for some time. Now is the time to be a traveler in my home country, to continue my SingapoRediscovers a.k.a. Explore your own backyard. 

Stay tuned for more local travel photography stories (and pocket travel guide) of Singapore!

Why these two themes “Recovery” and “Rejuvenation”?

Recovery

Year 2021 to me would be the year of recovery from the impacts and damages by the global pandemic COVID-19 to the world. This is not going to be straight forward or linear, it’s likely to be turbulent, roller coaster ups and downs. With the vaccines in place, the world has started its recovery mode, this is going to take time, it’s not going to recover immediately with the snap of a finger. 

Rejuvenation

There are many a times whereby I had been emotionally and mentally drained last year 2020 during the global pandemic situation. Going hand-in-hand with recovery is rejuvenation, putting new energy to what I am doing in this year 2021. 

As we start the slow journey in recovery in the year 2021, rejuvenation is also crucial, we need  to inject new energy into our heart, mind and soul as we start our recovery journey.

Please also visit my Theme and Goals for Year 2021 (Technology and Personal) article! 

The post Theme and Goals for Year 2021 (Photography and Travel) appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

I have been on Twitter platform since June 2009 (and still counting!), my blogging/social media journey began in April 2006 (and still counting!) with the launch of my humble photography blog, that has since grown, transformed and evolved into the photography and travel portal/blog of today whereby I post and share my travel adventure stories and photos. My commercial photography portfolio of works are on this website, my photographs can be viewed on Flickr and 500px, as well as on my Instagram. 

Being a travel wanderlust myself, my passion for travel, the rich, amazing and wonderful stories that I experienced, from history, heritage, culture, city, food, photographing and documenting them became an integral part of my travel photography portfolio. Discovering #TTOT was a great and fun way to connect with fellow travelers around the world on a common topic, our love for travel. It has been enriching and a source of knowing travel info, news or views from the locals themselves, for travelers by travelers, away from the usual tourist trails. 

Most recently, I became a co-host for #TTOT! It’s definitely an honour for me to be appointed co-host and I hope that I am able to contribute more to the #TTOT community, growing and expanding the #TTOT community. Therefore, I would like to invite fellow travelers, wanderlusts, photographers and filmmakers to join this travel community’s biggest Twitter chat. 

Here’s a quick summary of #TTOT – Travel Talk On Twitter

Day: Tuesday 

Time: 9:30am GMT and 9:30pm GMT 

Twitter List: https://twitter.com/i/lists/34415531 

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TravelTalkOnTwitter 

Find the 5 travel questions for discussion here on TravelDudes website: https://www.traveldudes.org/travelblog/travel-talk-twitter-questions 

Get to know your #TTOT hosts & organisers here: https://twitter.com/i/lists/34415531 

To all fellow travelers, photographers, filmmakers and wanderlusts, come join #TTOT – Travel Talk on Twitter every Tuesday at 9:30am GMT or 9:30pm GMT! Join in the travel community’s biggest Twitter chat, have a fun and interesting discussion on various travel topics every Tuesday!

The post Join #TTOT – Travel Talk On Twitter appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Setting a theme for Year 2020 was inspired by Fernando Gros recent article, “Momentum – Yearly Theme For 2020”. Having met Fernando in person, a very talented creative, musician, photographer and writer, I also have his book, “No Missing Tools”, very inspiring, opening a world that I never thought that I ever have inside me, on the subject of creativity. Fernando has been an inspiration for me as a photographer and writer, learning, changing, evolving and adapting in this current modern world filled with so much fast moving information, news, images and videos.

As I decided on a single word to choose my theme for Year 2020, it was a bit of a struggle since this was my maiden attempt. Seeking the advice of my old classmate Michael, from my primary school days (his command of the English language is way better than me), he advised me to find a phrase that would suit me personally, after an interesting discussion and brain storming, this phrase appeared “Striving to Excel”, our primary school motto (and our primary school is no longer around, they have merged with other primary school in my neighourhood).

Therefore, my theme for Year 2020 is “Striving to Excel”, fits in nicely to both my professional/business and personal goals for this year. Another new approach for this year, I am not revealing my business goals and plans for this year, you can still find some bits and pieces in previous articles, if you have been a regular reader on my two websites. Instead, I would be writing on my personal photography and travel goals, I want to return back to my roots, that started my love for photography, travel and story telling.

Theme for Year 2020 – Striving to Excel

Personal Photography Goals for 2020

• To publish my first photo zine
• To publish photo zine on a regular basis (one issue every quarter)
• Explore more of the outdoors and natural areas in Singapore and countries that I visit
• Produce more personalised photography content and stories (from personal projects to documentary)
• Printing photographs, from mini prints to large A2 photo prints
• Continue building up my TGH Photography Explorer Series brand and works

Personal Travel Goals

• Take more short haul trips to nearby countries and explore
• Japan 2020 (Hokkaido, Kansai)
• Climb and conquer another mountain peak
• Produce cinematic travel video stories

Striving to Excel, in both personal and professional capacity, for my Year 2020. Come on board, follow me on my photography and travel exploration stories adventures!

The post Theme and Goals for Year 2020 (Photography and Travel) appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.