South-east Asia: China curbs, plane shortage a drag on sector

BALI - At the exit for domestic arrivals at Bali's Ngurah Rai airport, Mr Suad, 47, a driver with tour company Gratia Holiday, waits for his third guest that day: a woman flying in from Jakarta who will pay roughly 80,000 rupiah (S$7.50) for a transfer to her hotel in nearby Seminyak.

While a smattering of bleary-eyed foreign arrivals weave their way around boarded up shops at the international terminal, here, at the domestic hub, a new Starbucks, a Pizza Hut and an assortment of stores have bloomed forth after years of pandemic-induced hibernation.