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Asian visitors to New Zealand drops amid influenza A(H1N1) fears

Asian visitors to New Zealand drops amid influenza A(H1N1) fears

The number of Asian tourists visiting New Zealand has plummeted due to swine flu fears, officials said Tuesday. The numbers of visitors from China, Japan and South Korea fell by half in June compared with the same month last year as the influenza A(H1N1) virus spread in New Zealand and elsewhere.

“Experience with past shocks, like SARs and September 11, meant we knew that arrivals from our Asian markets would likely be badly hit by the swine flu outbreak,” Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said.

Visitor numbers from Japan fell 67 percent to 2,300 last month from June last year, the lowest number of arrivals from there since June 1985, Statistics New Zealand said Tuesday. In the same month the number of visitors from China fell 49.4 percent to 2,556 and South Korean tourist numbers dropped 48.5 percent to 3,114. Overall, the number of Asian visitors fell 37.4 percent to 17,982 in June compared with a year earlier.

Hickton said it was hoped that some of the earlier threatened cancellations from Asia could be turned into postponements in coming months. “Fortunately, our offshore offices are picking up some more positive signals for later this year,” he said. “We are hoping China will start to improve from September, and the outlook for Japan is also looking slightly better for the first time in many months.”

The impact of the global economic crisis has also hurt tourism, which provides one in 10 New Zealand jobs and nearly 10 percent of gross domestic product. The main Asian markets were among the worst affected in the year to June, with the number of visitors from South Korea falling 31 percent from the previous year to 61,733, Japan by 23 percent to 88,474 and China 13.2 percent to 107,541.

Overall, the number of tourists in the year fell three percent to 2.41 million and numbers for the month of June were 135,200, down five percent from a year earlier. The falls in the numbers of Asian visitors has been partly offset by more Australians visiting their neighbouring country. In the year to June the number of Australian visitors rose four percent to 1.01 million.

Indonesia National Government/Public Holidays Calendar Year 2009

The following table indicates declared Indonesian government national holidays for year 2009 only – cultural variants also provide opportunity for holidays tied to local events. Beside official holiday, there are the so-called “libur bersama” or “cuti bersama”, or joint holiday(s) declared nationwide by the government. Please notice that there are two Islamic New Year in 2009 because Islamic Calendar 10-11 days shorter than Gregorian version. In total there are 14 public holidays, and 9 “cuti bersama” or joint holidays.

2009 Indonesia National Public Holidays

Date English Name Local Name Remarks
1 January 2009 New Year’s Day Tahun Baru Masehi
26 January 2009 Chinese New Year Tahun Baru Imlek 1st day of 1st month of Chinese Calendar
9 March 2009 Mouloud / Birth of the Prophet Maulid Nabi Muhammad Birthday of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad
26 March 2009 Day of Silence Hari Raya Nyepi (Tahun Baru Saka) New Year of Balinese Calendar
10 April 2009 Good Friday Wafat Isa Al-Masih (Jumat Agung) Date varies; this is the Friday before Easter Sunday, which is the first Sunday after the first Paschal Full Moon following the official vernal equinox
8 May 2009 Vesak Day / Buddha’s Birthday Waisak Date varies according to the Buddhist calendar
21 May 2009 Ascension Day Kenaikan Isa Al-Masih
20 July 2009 Ascension of the Prophet Lailat al Miraj
17 August 2009 Independence Day Hari Proklamasi Kemerdekaan R.I.
21 September 2009 Eid al-Fitr / End of Ramadan Idul Fitri (Lebaran) Date varies according to the Islamic calendar
28 November 2009 Eid al-Adha / Feast of the Sacrifice Idul Adha Date varies according to the Islamic calendar
18 December 2009 Islamic New Year Tahun Baru 1430 Hijriyah 1st day of the Muharram, the beginning of the new Islamic year
25 December 2009 Christmas Day Hari Natal

Here is the official announcement

KEPUTUSAN BERSAMA MENTERI AGAMA, MENTERI TENAGA KERJA DAN TRANSMIGRASI, DAN MENTERI NEGARA PENDAYAGUNAAN APARATUR
NEGARA REPUBLIK INDONESIA

NOMOR : 4 TAHUN 2008NOMOR : KEP. 115/ MEN/VI/2008NOMOR : SKB/06/M. PAN/6/2008 TENTANG HARI-HARI LIBUR NASIONAL DAN CUTI BERSAMA TAHUN 2009
DENGAN RAHMAT TUHAN YANG MAHA ESA
MENTERI AGAMA, MENTERI TENAGA KERJA DAN TRANSMIGRASI, DAN
MENTERI NEGARA PENDAYAGUNAAN APARATUR NEGARA

Menimbang :
a. bahwa dalam rangka efisiensi dan efektivitas pemanfaatan hari-hari kerja, hari-hari libur, dan cuti bersama
dipandang perlu menata pelaksanaan hari-hari libur nasional dan mengatur cuti bersama tahun 2009;
b. bahwa penataan hari-hari libur dan pengaturan cuti bersama tahun 2009 sebagaimana tersebut pada huruf a diharapkan menjadi pedoman bagi instansi pemerintah dan swasta sehingga dapat meningkatkan efektivitas dan produktivitas kerja;
c. bahwa berdasarkan pertimbangan sebagaimana dimaksud pada huruf a dan huruf b di atas, perlu ditetapkan Keputusan Bersama Menteri Agama, Menteri Tenaga Kerja dan Transmigrasi, dan Menteri Negara Pendayagunaan Aparatur Negara tentang Hari-hari Libur Nasional dan Cuti Bersama Tahun 2009.Mengingat :
1. Keputusan Presiden Nomor 3 Tahun 1983 tentang Perubahan Atas Keputusan Presiden Nomor 251 Tahun 1967 tentang Hari-hari Libur sebagaimana telah beberapa kali diubah terakhir dengan Keputusan Presiden RI Nomor 10 Tahun 1971;
2. Keputusan Presiden RI Nomor 19 Tahun 2002 tentang Hari Tahun Baru Imlek;
3. Peraturan Presiden RI Nomor 9 Tahun 2005 tentang Kedudukan, Tugas, Fungsi, Susunan Organisasi dan Tata Kerja Kernenterian Negara Republik Indonesia sebagaimana telah beberapa kali diubah terakhir dengan Peraturan Presiden Republik Indonesia Nomor 94 Tahun 2006;
4. Keputusan Menteri Agama RI Nomor 331 Tahun 2002 tentang Penetapan Hari Tahun Baru Imlek sebagai Hari Libur Nasional.
MEMUTUSKAN:
Menetapkan : KEPUTUSAN BERSAMA MENTERI AGAMA, MENTERI TENAGA KERJA DAN TRANSMIGRASI, DAN MENTERI NEGARA PENDAYAGUNAAN APARATUR NEGARA TENTANG HARI-HARI LIBUR NASIONAL DAN CUTI BERSAMA TAHUN 2009.
Kesatu : Menetapkan Hari-hari Libur Nasional dan Cuti Bersama Tahun 2009 sebagaimana tersebut dalam lampiran Keputusan ini.
Kedua : Untuk kepentingan pelaksanaan ibadah Had Raya Idul Fitri dan Hari Raya I’dui Adha bagi umat Islam, maka tanggal 1 Ramadhan 1430 H, 1 Syawal 1430 H, dan 10 Dzulhijjah 1430 H ditetapkan kemudian dengan Keputusan Kenteri Agama
Ketiga : Unit kerja/satuan organisasi yang berfungsi memberikan pelayanan langsung kepada masyarakat di tingkat Pusat dan Daerah yang mencakup kepentingan masyarakat luas, seperti: rumah sakit/puskesmas, unit kerja yang memberikan pelayanan telekomunikasi, listrik, air minum, pemadam kebakaran, keamanan dan ketertiban, perbankan, perhubungan, pajak, bea cukai, dan unit kerja pelayanan lainnya yang sejenis agar mengatur penugasan pegawai dan pekerja/buruh pada hari – hari libur nasional dan cuti bersama yang ditetapkan, sesuai dengan peraturan perundang-undangan.
Keempat : Pelaksanaan cuti bersama sebagaimana dimaksud pada Diktum Kesatu mengurangi hak cuti tahunan pegawai sesuai dengan peraturan perundang-undangan dan ketentuan yang berlaku pada masing-masing instansi/lembaga/perusahaan
Kelima : Pelaksanaan cuti bersama di kalangan dunia usaha sebagaimana dimaksud pada Diktum Kesatu diatur oleh lembaga atau perusahaan yang bersangkutan
Keenam : Keputusan ini mulai berlaku pada tanggal ditetapkan.
Ditetapkan di : Jakarta
pada tanggal : 9 Juni 2008
LAMPIRAN KEPUTUSAN BERSAMAMENTERI AGAMA, MENTERI TENAGA KERJA DAN TRANSMIGRASI,DAN MENTERI NEGARA PENDAYAGUNAAN APARATUR NEGARAREPUBLIK INDONESIANOMOR : 4 TAHUN 2008NOMOR : KEP.115/MENNI/2008NOMOR : SKB/06/M.PAN/6/2008TENTANGHARI-HARI LIBUR NASIONAL DAN CUTI BERSAMA TAHUN 2009

A. HARI LIBUR TAHUN 2009
- 1 Januari, Kamis, Tahun Baru Masehi
- 6 Januari, Senin, Tahun Baru Imlek 2560
- 9 Maret, Senin, Maulid Nabi Muhammad SAW
- 26 Maret, Kamis, Hari Raya Nyepi Tahun Baru Saka 1931
- 10 April, Jum’at, Wafat Yesus Kristus
- 9 Mei, Sabtu, Hari Raya Waisak Tahun 2553
- 1 Mei, Kamis Kenaikan Yesus Kristus
- 2 Juli, Senin Isra’ Mi’raj Nabi Muhammad SAW
- 17 Agustus, Senin, Hari Kemerdekaan RI
- 21-22 September, Senin-Selasa, Idul Fitri 1 Syawal 1430 Hijriyah
- 27 November, Jum’at, Idul Adha 1430 Hijriyah
- 18 Desember, Jum’at, Tahun Baru 1431 Hijriyah
- 25 Desember, Jum’at, Hari Raya Natal
B. CUTI BERSAMA TAHUN 2009
2 Januari, Jum’at, Cuti Bersama Tahun Baru Masehi
18 September, Jum’at, Cuti Bersama Idul Fitri
23 September, Rabu, Cuti Bersama Idul Fitri
24 Desember, Kamis, Cuti Bersama Natal
Ditetapkan di : Jakarta
pada tanggal : 9 Juni 2008

MOM Singapore Public Holidays for The Year 2010

Ministry of Manpower has confirmed the Singapore Public Holidays for 2010. Please note that based on this new calendar, the previous calendar we released was not accurate.

SINGAPORE PUBLIC HOLIDAYS FOR THE YEAR 2010

The dates for the 11 specified public holidays for 2010 are as follows:

New Year’s Day

Friday

1 January 2010

Chinese New Year

Sunday*

Monday

14 February 2010

15 February 2010

Good Friday

Friday

2 April 2010

Labour Day

Saturday

1 May 2010

Vesak Day

Friday

28 May 2010

National Day

Monday

9 August 2010

Hari Raya Puasa

Friday

10 September 2010

Deepavali

Friday

5 November 2010

Hari Raya Haji

Wednesday

17 November 2010

Christmas Day

Saturday

25 December 2010

* As Chinese New Year falls on Sunday 14 February 2010 and Monday 15 February 2010, the next day, Tuesday 16 February 2010, will be a public holiday.

2.   The date, 5 November 2010, for Deepavali needs to be checked against the Indian Almanac when it is available. Should there be a change in date, the Ministry of Manpower will issue a press release to announce the change.

3.   The list of public holidays for 2010 is available on the Ministry of Manpower’s website at http://www.mom.gov.sg

Update: Singapore 2011 Public Holidays is out. Check it out !

Singapore confirms 2 more Influenza A/H1N1 cases – Xinhua


Straits Times
Singapore confirms 2 more Influenza A/H1N1 cases
Xinhua, China
The 17th case is a 25-year-old Malaysian female who works as a cabin crew with Singapore Airlines. She was on holiday in Melbourne and developed symptoms on June 5 while she was there. She returned to Singapore on Emirates EK 405 on June 7.
Malaysian Latest H1N1 Flu Victim In Singapore Bernama
Singapore confirms two more H1N1 cases, bringing total cases to 17 Channel News Asia
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Shifting gears to woo F1 fans – AsiaOne


CCTV
Shifting gears to woo F1 fans
AsiaOne, Singapore
By Lim Wei Chean NO MORE sky-high hotel rates for fans of the Singapore Grand Prix (GP) this year. Gone too – or cut back – will be the requirement that the race fan book a room for a minimum number of nights. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will
Singapore Preparing for Shorter GP Season ASIATravelTips.com
Singapore aims to attract more tourists during F1 season CCTV
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