Thai Airways International (THAI), Qatar Airways, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Israeli airline El Al are among the first to increase flights to Phuket. This popular tourist island has been closed to international visitors for over a year. Phuket beach is empty because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Source: Reuters A representative of THAI said that direct flights to Phuket from Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Paris, London and Zurich will be launched from July to September this year. In addition, its subsidiary, THAI Smile, has scheduled 4 round-trip flights per week between Phuket and Hong Kong (China), starting from July 2. Singapore Airlines has added one more flight on its Singapore – Phuket route as of June 1, from two existing flights per week. Airlines in the Middle East have also shown interest in Thailand reopening to international tourism. Qatar Airways is also planning to add more flights to Phuket, starting July 1. Emirates will also start direct flights from Dubai to Phuket four times a week, starting July 2. Previously, the airline had resumed daily flights from Bangkok to Dubai since September last year. El Al will resume direct flights from Tel Aviv – Phuket from next month.

Crisis in the training market Where the trainees are most absent

Status: 08.06.2021 2:09 p.m.

Much fewer apprenticeships, far fewer applicants – Corona has massively thinned the training market. What alarms experts: Professions in which there is already a shortage of skilled workers are severely affected. From Philipp Reichert, SWR Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, significantly fewer training positions have been offered than before. This is shown by figures from the Federal Employment Agency SWR has evaluated. According to this, companies across Germany reported only around 430,000 apprenticeship positions from October 2020 to the end of April, i.e. after more than half of the current application year. That is around 60,000 fewer than in the same period of 2018/2019, i.e. before the pandemic. This means that by the end of April, around every eighth training position in the country was no longer offered. The number of applicants also fell significantly in the same period: from around 418,000 to 345,000 – a decrease of around 18 percent.

The healthcare and hospitality industries are particularly hard hit

Accordingly, there were particularly strong slumps in the tourism industry and in the hotel and restaurant sector. By the end of April, an average of every third apprenticeship position was no longer offered compared to 2019. But also in large occupational groups in the craft, for example in food production, the metal industry and in some technical professions, thousands fewer training positions were reported. The SWR -Data analysis shows that all federal states are affected by the development – albeit to different degrees.

Young people feel insecure

The Federal Employment Agency attributes the decline in training places and applicants primarily to the Corona crisis. “This mainly reflects the pandemic restrictions and the associated economic uncertainties,” it says SWR -Inquiry. Young people are also unsettled because personal consultations were more difficult in the pandemic and, for example, training fairs were canceled. “We also suspect that some of the young people are withdrawing from the dual training market in the current situation and switching from the outset to alternatives such as further schooling or possibly studying,” says the Federal Employment Agency. In addition to the corona crisis, changes in the labor market, for example in the automotive and supplier industry, as well as demographic change have contributed to the development.

Can the gap still be closed?

For labor market experts like Stefan Sell from the Koblenz University of Applied Sciences, the development is alarming. “These are extremely strong slumps, they are extraordinarily high.” Sell ​​therefore fears long-term consequences if fewer young people start an apprenticeship in the fall of the new training year. “Losses of this magnitude could never be made up again.” Past crises would have shown that. “Unfortunately, we have to expect that the level of apprenticeships will remain significantly lower overall than before the Corona crisis,” said Sell. From the labor market expert Sell’s point of view, it is particularly problematic that such occupational groups are also affected in which companies already need an above-average long time to fill vacancies. According to calculations by the Institute for Employment Research, for example, companies in the field of mechatronics and in some technical and health professions are looking for skilled workers for a particularly long time. “Even before Corona, we did not train enough in these professions,” says Sell.

Criticism of “small funding programs” by the government

The SWR data analysis shows: It is precisely in these occupational groups that there are now also significant drops in the number of applicants. At least one in ten applicants broke away there compared to the time before Corona. Labor market expert Sell sees the significant drop in applicants in the professions with a shortage of skilled workers extremely critical. “In some of these areas, such as the health professions, we will run into significant shortages,” said Sell. The responsible Federal Ministry of Education divided up SWR request with, you take the decline in the training market very seriously. That is why a program to secure training positions was decided last summer, which for example provides training and employment bonuses as well as grants for training and trainer remuneration. 700 million euros are earmarked for this and the coming year. Sell, however, criticizes that the program is insufficient to cushion the decline in the training market. “This is a small funding program, one should have set clearer signals.” The program was also too late and too complicated for companies.

Ms. Vu Thanh Thuy (Hanoi tourist) shared her first post in the Phu Quoc tour group: “I need to transfer a voucher for 2 nights of a 2-bedroom villa for 4 adults and 2 children at Andochine Resort Phu Quoc. Free breakfast and airport shuttle. The space here is super beautiful, the expiry date is until June 1, the price is only 7 million VND”. Ms. Thuy said the cost of one night in this hotel is 7 million VND/room. However, a family with small children, afraid to travel during the outbreak of the epidemic, had to cede it at a cheap price, accepting half of the loss. Falling into a similar situation, Ms. Nga (Lang Son tourist) shared with Zing worry when there is a risk of losing 70 million dong of airfare and hotel for 8 adults and 6 children. “The exact flight schedule is May 8, I have contacted the parties about the refund cancellation policy but have not received a response, now I have to take advantage of posting to make room at the hotel, help some or that part” , she says. Room pictures shared by tourist Vu Thanh Thuy. Photo: Andochine Resort & Spa Phu Quoc. Pham Hong Thuong’s account complained because the resort she had made a deposit required to have a certificate of refusal to leave the place of residence before agreeing to reserve the room. “I flew on May 10, booked a hotel a month in advance, but the epidemic was too stressful. Although not in an epidemic area, but where I live, there are cases of F1, F2. Due to the mandatory situation, I had to cancel the room, move day, but no one wants that.” Da Nang is also a locality that has suffered a lot of damage since the appearance of case information. Swimming activities, festivals, sports, religion… in the city must be temporarily suspended. Many members advise visitors to prioritize safety and stay in place. High-end accommodation such as Muong Thanh Luxury Hotel, Furama Danang Resort suffers from tourists canceling rooms due to fear of epidemics. “Many people accept to lose their deposit, not coming to Da Nang as expected,” a representative of Furama informed. When asked about the policy for cancellation or delay, the booking department of Danang Golden Bay, a 5-star hotel on Le Van Duyet Street, said that it is running a 50% discount program, so bookings cannot be canceled. room. “However, you can be supported to reserve a room until July 31 or based on the epidemic situation,” this person added. Exchange with Zing Tran Thi Bao Thu, Marketing Communications Director of Fiditour Travel – Vietluxtour, said that the company still maintains tourist routes to destinations that have not been banned from welcoming guests: “During the complicated epidemic situation, the tours are concentrated. We always train and periodically test 5K safety service skills in departments that directly work with customers.” Currently, attractions and entertainment in Phu Quoc are still operating normally, but in Da Nang, from 0:00 on May 4, karaoke service businesses, discos, bars, beer clubs, neighborhoods walking, the night market stopped working, hindering the tourists’ plans to visit the city.

The cheap super-brick Norwegian brown crab, about 300,000 VND / kg, is actually a frozen type. The taste of crabs is delicious, fatty is very attractive, but many people want to eat it up and down many times to dare to buy because the price is quite high. Even a large-weight brick crab is as expensive as Alaskan lobster. Worth mentioning recently, on the seafood market, there is a type of crab that is also super brick but is imported at half the price of Ca Mau crab, the weight of this crab is also terrible, making many people like crab. Massively ordered to eat. A consumer shared: This batch on the online market is selling Norwegian brown crab, which weighs 600-700 grams / piece, is super brick but the price is cheaper than Ca Mau crab meat, so we buy it every week. come home to eat. This person also said that crabs are usually imported with expensive prices, but this Norwegian brown crab is the opposite, the price can be said to be super cheap. A crab weighing up to 700 grams but the price is less than 200,000 VND / fish. According to research, brown crabs are caught in the Northeast Atlantic, the Norwegian coast. They usually live in clean seas, where there are golden sandy bottoms and clear blue water. This type of seafood is similar to Vietnamese sea crab, identified by dark brown body, large and flat shell, looks quite aggressive. However, according to the focal point in Vietnam, there are also two types of Norwegian brown crab. Accordingly, they often import fresh brown crabs (swimming goods) and steamed frozen crabs. In particular, fresh Norwegian brown crabs, the price ranges from 700,000-800,000 VND / kg, while frozen goods are much cheaper, only from 280,000-350,000 VND / kg. This cheap frozen crab is actually very bland and bland, and is completely different from fresh produce. Therefore, consumers should also consider, should not be cheap and cheap to buy goods with poor quality. Thu Ha (Th)