Hokkaido’s Kiroro Resort, with a snow season that stretches through spring, has launched a ski-and-stay package.
Visitors to Kiroro resort can choose from two properties: Sheraton Hokkaido Kiroro Resort and The Kiroro, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel.
Three nights for the price of two, 50 per cent off ski equipment, and more at Kiroro
Located right at the base of the slopes, Sheraton Hokkaido Kiroro Resort features 140 guestrooms and suites along with three restaurants. The resort is adjacent to the mountain centre, with easy access to the ski and snowboard academy, rental shop and ski valet.
The Kiroro, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel is a luxury alpine resort with views of two nearby peaks, Asari and Nagamine. The 282-room hotel offers mountain vistas from every room, and five dining options ranging from Japanese to Italian.
The Kiroro Big Package – offered through April 26 at The Kiroro, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel and through April 14 at Sheraton Hokkaido Kidodo Resort –includes:
– three nights’ accommodations for the price of two;
– complimentary breakfast;
– 50 per cent discount on wear and gear rentals, including skis and snowboards;
– complimentary access to resort pool and fitness centre
A tour group is aiming to showcase Cambodia in a different light while highlighting the plight of deported Cambodian-Americans.
The seed for Zin Adventures was planted in April 2018 when its core founders decided to form a social enterprise to offer employment and support to their peers. The five men are a fraction of the more than 700 Cambodian-Americans who have been sent to Cambodia since 2002.
A group of American deportees find a new home – and opportunities – in Cambodia's travel sector
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The majority have never set foot on Cambodian soil, born in refugee camps that dotted the Thai border after their families fled the brutality of the Khmer Rouge, under which almost a quarter of the population died between 1975 to 1979. In the 1980s, the US started accepting refugees, numbering over 178,000 arrivals. Many families were placed into under-privileged neighbourhoods where turf wars were rife. Growing up, children turned to gangs for survival.
Although refugees were given legal permanent residence, they did not automatically receive citizenship. In 2002, America and Cambodia signed a law that saw non-citizens who commit a crime, including minor offences, deported after serving jail time – in many cases, several years later. Today, about 1,800 people in the US are waiting to be exiled to Cambodia.
Having managed to turn tragedy into a second chance with the financial backing of two business people in Cambodia, the team – Buck Billy, Bobby Orn, Bunthoeun Ly, Khan Hin and Jimmy Hiem – hope through Zin they can do the same for others.
They plan to recruit and train up to 20 employees from their community, as well as an additional 20 locals, and expand their itineraries across the country.
Currently, they have developed a one-day tour – which can be extended to three – to Kirirom and a 90-minute walking tour through the capital’s Old European Quarter, followed by an optional boat tour with a Khmer dance class from members of award-winning Sophiline Arts Ensemble.
The team has spent almost a year carrying out extensive research to seek out hidden relics, spots and stories that cannot be found in the guidebooks. Months were spent trawling online resources, newspapers and books, carrying out site visits and extensively interviewing locals.
The route starts in Phnom Penh and goes on to Kirirom – a national park about 2.5 hours from the capital.
Zin also recently teamed up with bike tour operator Grasshopper Adventures to offer trips through Kirirom National Park.
Through the Gold Luck City tour, an itinerary has been curated to capture fading parts of the city’s more prosperous past. These include an ancient colonial church, a former Chinese assembly hall and a striking Chinese Hokkien temple.
To date, Zin has met with about 15 tourism companies, ranging from small travel businesses to large tour operators, with “much interest” shown in the Good Lucky City Tour.
Plans going forward include attracting more travellers from the US, as well as creating memorials and naming projects after relatives who made the refugee exodus and victims of the war and genocide.
Said Bobby, 44, who was deported in 2011: “We want to show the others when they arrive here that life isn’t over and there is hope, while showing some special places in Cambodia to visitors.”
Thanks to an increase in direct flight connections and destination awareness, the US is gaining traction among Singaporean travellers, reported travel agents here.
Agents at the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) Travel Fair last weekend reported an uptick in travel interest to the US. Dynasty Travel has received 50 per cent more bookings, while CTC Travel saw 20 per cent more enquiries from its customers.
Singapore outbound agents are seeing a spike in bookings for the US, which they say is in part driven by better connections and competitive airfares
“We had customers coming in with another destination in mind, but when we told them about the promotional airfares to the US, they chose that instead,” said Vivian Lee, general manager of Euro-Asia Holidays.
At the NATAS Travel Fair, Singapore Airlines rolled out exclusive discounted airfares through 18 agents on all of its flights, including Los Angeles and New York.
Lee observed that the Singapore market is “more price sensitive”, and has a long-held perception of the US as an inaccessible and expensive destination.
However, with the growing roster of flight connections to the US, Euro-Asia Holidays can now offer a diverse range of airline partners such as Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Emirates, she said.
Better US representation in Singapore has also lifted the destination’s profile. In October last year, New York City’s official destination marketing organisation, NYC & Company, set up shop in Singapore – a move that has helped bring the US into the light, remarked James Wong, sales & marketing manager (MICE), Farmosa Holiday Tour.
“The US has been quiet for the past few years, but now with NYC & Company’s office in Singapore, at least the we can learn more about the new things New York City has to offer, and have someone to approach if we have questions,” explained Wong.
NYC & Company yesterday began its first South-east Asia trade mission in Singapore, followed by pitstops in Kuala Lumpur and Manila.
During this trade mission, the organisation will conduct training and networking sessions between travel agents and NYC & Company partners, namely Hudson Yards, The Museum of Modern Art, Tour America and Wyndham Garden Brooklyn Sunset Park Hotel New York.
The priority of this trade mission is to educate local tour operators about the wealth of offerings in New York City beyond the usual sights, said Ee Lian Lee, account director, South-east Asia representative office, NYC & Company.
Skal International Mumbai South, the association’s second club in Mumbai, launched last Friday with 35 members.
Key members of Skal International India, including president Ranjini Nambiar, first vice president Carl Vaz and secretary Shekhar Divadkar were at the ITC Maratha hotel, Mumbai International Airport to grace the occasion, along with distinguished membre d’honneur Jason Samuel and secretary of the the Skal Asian Area Arun Raghavan.
Mumbai gets a second Skal Club
Speaking at the event, Nambiar said: “(The) growth of Skal India in the last six months has been phenomenal, we have opened three clubs taking the count to 14 clubs with 1,183 members. Our vision was 20 clubs by year 2020, (now it) looks like we have to raise our bar higher to reach out to potential members across the length & breadth of this vast country.”
Raghavan joined the accompanying distinguished guests in a traditional lamp lighting ceremony to signify the opening of the new club.
Including VIP guests and spouses, 52 people were in attendance for cocktails, inauguration formalities in the ballroom and dinner in the adjoining gardens.
Skal International Mumbai South, the association’s second club in Mumbai, launched last Friday with 35 members.
Key members of Skal International India, including president Ranjini Nambiar, first vice president Carl Vaz and secretary Shekhar Divadkar were at the ITC Maratha hotel, Mumbai International Airport to grace the occasion, along with distinguished membre d’honneur Jason Samuel and secretary of the the Skal Asian Area Arun Raghavan.
Mumbai gets a second Skal Club
Speaking at the event, Nambiar said: “(The) growth of Skal India in the last six months has been phenomenal, we have opened three clubs taking the count to 14 clubs with 1,183 members. Our vision was 20 clubs by year 2020, (now it) looks like we have to raise our bar higher to reach out to potential members across the length & breadth of this vast country.”
Raghavan joined the accompanying distinguished guests in a traditional lamp lighting ceremony to signify the opening of the new club.
Including VIP guests and spouses, 52 people were in attendance for cocktails, inauguration formalities in the ballroom and dinner in the adjoining gardens.
Tourism business in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, is gradually picking up six months after the devastating earthquake hit the island’s north in August last year.
With a number of promotional activities and events planned, NTB tourism stakeholders expect that by the peak summer season this year, recovery of business will reach between 60-80 per cent of pre-disaster levels.
International tourists are making a comeback to Lombok (Credit: Special)
Indonesia Ministry of Tourism has 30 promotional events in the pipeline, including fam trips and sales missions to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and the UK.
“Fam trips help bring confidence to travellers that Lombok is safe,” said Nia Niscaya, deputy minister of marketing development regional II, Ministry of Tourism, at a media presentation publicising the ministry’s 2019 marketing programmes at Katamaran Resort in Lombok last week. “There are also four (traditional) festivals to promote Lombok in the country’s calendar of events this year,” she added.
Industry stakeholders in Lombok are already observing a gradual uptick in business, driven by international demand.
Emanuel Prasodjo Adji, general manager of Aston Sunset Beach Resort Gili Trawangan, said: “Before the earthquake, domestic and international arrivals to Gili Trawangan were between 1,000 and 3,000 people per day (depending on the seasons).” Currently, the number is around 900.
Looking at enquiries and forward bookings, he foresees that by the summer peak season, business would reach 60 per cent of the hotel’s summer 2017 performance.
Meanwhile, Wayan Sudiarta, general manager, Katamaran Hotel & Resort, said: “Despite the disaster, last year we managed to achieve an average occupancy of 80 per cent, which was 10 per cent lower than in 2017. “
It is still early to project for the year, according to Wayan, but looking at current bookings and performance, especially from China, Europe and the US, he estimated hotel occupancy can reach 70 per cent.
Despite the positive sentiment from the international market, the NTB Guides’ Association projects that full recovery to Lombok might take another year.
Said Lalu Widianing Artha, coordinator of the Code of Ethic Board at the association: “In areas like Gili (Trawangan), Kuta (Central Lombok) and Senggigi, currently only about 20 per cent of traffic has returned, also led by the international market.
“International travellers are more confident. They understand that natural disasters can happen anywhere and, unlike security threats such as terrorism. As soon as they see the destination (on its feet again), the demand (will return).”
He said fast boat operators from Bali are gradually increasing their frequencies and AirAsia’s plan to start flying between Perth and Lombok were a breath of fresh air for the destination, as accessibility is key to traffic growth.
On the other hand, the domestic market has been slower to rebound, according to Lalu.
He said: “The domestic market is big for Lombok. However, they are more hesitant to travel here now – feeling uncertain about safety. Besides, there are other issues like the decreasing seat capacity following the disaster. The hike of domestic airfares also has not helped to increase the desire to come here. This is a challenge for us.”
In response, the guides’ association has been doing a series of domestic road shows to Jogjakarta and Central Java and will next month travel to East Java.
“East Java is a very important market as about 80 per cent of domestic traffic to Lombok is from the province,” Lalu said.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and GrabTaxi (Thailand) have announced a strategic collaboration to exchange big data for destination marketing and other tourism goals.
With the partnership, GrabTaxi (Thailand) will exchange big data collected anonymously over hundreds of thousands of daily rides from various services on the Grab app. This is expected to TAT give insights into the behaviour and lifestyle of both Thai and international tourists, their favourite destinations, the length of stay and travel patterns in Thailand.
TAT’s Yuthasak Supasorn (left) and GrabTaxi (Thailand)’s Tarin Thaniyavarn
GrabTaxi (Thailand) will also support the project with Grab Data scientists who will be working closely with TAT.
The agreement is in line with the government’s Thailand 4.0 policy of utilising technology to integrate information from both the government and private sector to help move Thailand forward. The collaboration also includes co-creation of innovations to enhance local transportation and tourism as well as provide a better livelihood and increase sustainable income for local communities.
Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor, said: “TAT realises the benefits of utilising digital technology to develop a smart data system that can better support tourism marketing and serve the needs of tourists. Therefore, we have initiated the project ‘Tourism Smart Data, the Time Is Now’ and partnered with GrabTaxi (Thailand) to drive Thailand’s tourism industry.
“Our main goals are to attract the current group of tourists to revisit Thailand, expand new tourist targets, distribute tourism income to secondary provinces, and introduce new destinations to stimulate the market even further,” Yuthasak added.
According to Yuthasak, the partners will devise a tourism development plan as well as define the best approaches for using these insights to benefit all stakeholders in the Thai tourism industry.
The plan includes building of a smart data system for tourism, creating innovations for transportation, and launching campaigns to promote local tourism nationwide.
Tarin Thaniyavarn, country head of GrabTaxi (Thailand), said: “This MoU is another strategic move in the continued collaboration between TAT and GrabTaxi (Thailand), following the previous partnership in several campaigns including ‘Grab Xi’ in the end of 2018 as well as the 39th Thailand Tourism Festival 2019 earlier this year.”
Westin Hotels and Resort has partnered Tokyo Marathon to offer premier VIP marathon packages as part of its new Marriott Bonvoy loyalty programme.
The partnership is expected to drive home the brand message that it supports guests’ active lifestyles throughout their stays and provides support for guests participating in such marathons.
The partnership is expected to strengthen Westin’s active lifestyle branding
Tokyo Marathon is expected to draw approximately 38,000 runners as well as 14,000 volunteers and an estimated 1.3 million spectators worldwide.
This will kick off ahead of race day at a dedicated Westin Booth at the Tokyo Marathon Expo 2019 event, running from February 28 to March 3, 2019.
The Tokyo Marathon Expo 2019 Westin Booth will feature a pop-up Westin Fitness Center, providing a glimpse of the fitness programmes available at every Westin hotel. At Westin hotels around the world, more than 225 Run Concierges host group runs and encourage runners of all levels to explore their destinations.
On March 2, Westin Wellness Advocate Shiho, a top Japanese model, yoga instructor and media star, will be conducting a pre-marathon warm-up session at the Westin Booth. She will also be giving a brief talk on the “Eat Well” aspect of training for a marathon.
On March 3, race day, a Cheer Zone stationed at the finishing line area will motivate and encourage runners, and Westin Hotels will gift finishers of the 42.192 km marathon course with Westin Heavenly Slippers at the Westin’s Official Partner Booth to help them rest their feet.
F&B and banquet operations constituted 42.3% of hotel revenue, survey shows
India’s hotels are heavily dependent on F&B as a revenue generator, and have a significant opportunity to boost foreign and leisure demand, according to findings from the 21st edition of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) survey report.
The report, produced by STR and Horwath HTL, is based on survey responses from 475 hotels comprising 36,029 hotel rooms for the 2017-18 financial year.
F&B and banquet operations constituted 42.3% of Indian hotel revenue, survey shows
“Overall, hotel performance in India is thriving with India’s macros, which have been intact and looking up all through the year,” said Vidhi Godiawala, STR’s business development manager, Central & South Asia. “The hotel industry is riding on the back of the country’s resilient growth story with demand seen picking up from domestic travellers. With more disposable income and a rising middle class, Indians are travelling now more than ever before. And this reflects not just in the report’s KPI findings, but also the impact of F&B consumption as an overall contributor to hotels revenues.”
The report revealed that F&B and banquet operations contributed 42.3% of hotel revenue. Interestingly, revenue contribution from F&B outlets increased for the four-star and lower category hotels. This appears to be a contradiction to the expectation of lower-tier hotels being more select/limited service in character combined with lower rates. On the other hand, these figures reflect the F&B revenue potential in markets outside of the cities.
Revenue from F&B outlets made up 37.8% of total revenue in hotels with up to 50 rooms. This is higher than the total F&B contribution (outlets plus banquets) at hotels of larger size. Together with banquets, hotels with up to 50 rooms gain half of their revenue from F&B operations, the report showed.
Foreign guests represent only 22.8% of total hotel business. Goa and Mumbai are just past the 30% mark in terms of share of foreign guests. In Delhi, the number is higher, but still below 40%.
Also reflecting opportunity for development, the leisure segment currently represents just 41.5% of the country’s overall demand.
Supply increases in recent years have led to lower average daily rate (ADR). Specifically, ADR for five-star, deluxe hotels was below Rp9,500 (US$134), while five-star and four-star hotels reported ADR of Rp5,700 and Rp4,100, respectively.
These figures reflect India as a very affordable destination, although tourism numbers have not grown in a commensurate manner.
RevPAR for chain-affiliated hotels is 2.09 times the RevPAR for independent hotels.
Gross operating profit levels for 2017-18 remained comparable with 2016-17, but EBITDA margins are lower on account of higher management fees and other fixed charges, which is representative of a larger sample of branded management and franchise properties in the 2017-18 report.
Trips will be announced between now and May; G Adventures has already revealed Peru as the first destination
G Adventures and National Geographic Expeditions are strengthening their partnership with the launch of National Geographic Family Journeys with G Adventures.
The new 2020 programme, comprising 12 trips, will be bookable online and through travel agents starting May 7, 2019.
Trips will be announced between now and May; G Adventures has revealed Peru as the first destination
G Adventures and National Geographic first joined forces in 2015 with the launch of National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures, a programme of small group adventures which has grown to include 89 trips in 53 countries during 2019.
With the new programme, the partners hope to broaden the reach of their small-group adventure holidays to also appeal to children aged seven and above, as well as their parents and grandparents.
Adrian Piotto, Australia and New Zealand, managing director, G Adventures, said the new itineraries include destination characteristics ranging from wildlife and conservation to history and culture, exploration, and photography and storytelling.
He added: “All our groups are made up of an international mix of travellers, giving families the opportunity to connect not just with each other, but with their fellow travellers and the local people they meet along the way. As is the case with all G Adventures tours, we encourage interactions with local people, and ensure as much money as possible stays in the communities we visit.”
