Nearly three-quarters of Cuba’s hotels have been closed and the island’s tourism sector has been brought to “almost total paralysis” by US sanctions and fuel shortages, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said on Wednesday. Detailing the scale of the tourism crisis for the first time, Marrero said seven international chains, responsible for about half of all hotel rooms, had left the island. Tourism had been Cuba’s second-largest source of foreign currency earnings, employing more than 300,000 people...
Hong Kong hotels and guest houses are required to provide fire escape hoods to ensure customer safety, with authorities rolling out a grace period for the sector, the city’s home affairs minister has said. Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen also said on Saturday that the government would discuss implementation arrangements with the sector soon, after some representatives flagged that they had not been consulted before the requirement was introduced. “We have heard different...