(Bloomberg) -- Barely a week old, and 2023 is already full of dismal surprises. From the spectacle of Republican bickering that augurs badly for the US Congress, to the ongoing war in Ukraine and China’s messy reopening there’s plenty to dampen the weekend spirit. Fear not, the best remedy for the post-holiday blues is to start planning your next vacation. Here’s a travel-themed way to unwind.

The big event this weekend in Asia is the latest reopening of China and Hong Kong for international travel, a moment many in the global hospitality industry have been waiting for after a three-year absence of China’s high-spending tourists. But don’t expect a huge surge of visitors from the Middle Kingdom any time soon. Here are the reasons for Chinese travelers to stay put.

The rest of us, especially those who are ready to make up for all the lost travel during the pandemic, might want to consider these 21 hotspots to try out in 2023. If your preference is for a winter snowboarding break in Europe, however, you may need to rethink — the warmest January in years has melted much of the snow. And if you were expecting to including China in your list of destinations, you should read this first.

Still, even if mainland Chinese aren’t jetting abroad yet, they’re ready to start spending at home. That, at least, is the prediction of the country’s stock traders, who are betting that the surge in consumer-related companies so far this year  is only going to grow.

Part of the optimism is fueled by Beijing’s expected review of its “three red lines” that mired the outsize property industry in a two-year slump. Now China is going all out to restore growth to a sector that accounts for about a quarter of its economy.

China’s not the only Asian nation with a key economic segment in trouble. Even with all the problems at Tesla Inc., there’s a growing consensus that Japan’s world-beating motor industry may have made a big miscalculation about the rapid shift to electric vehicles. Did Japan Inc. get it wrong again?

In the bruised world of crypto, the new year also has brought little respite. As US prosecutors close in on Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle following the meltdown at FTX, the ensuing panic has created a new breed of bank run.

Never mind, if you have a superyacht,  you can always escape. This month we find that the well-keeled are converging in the Maldives.

Have a vicarious weekend.

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