Switzerland’s largest DMC Swiss Travel Centre (STC) now has its first Asia base with the opening of an office in Hong Kong.
Launched on November 29, the Hong Kong office has three full-time staff and handles only B2B business. Currently, the DMC has representatives taking care of Asia sales activities in Beijing, Seoul and Bangkok.
Front row, from left: STC’s Fabian Bryner, Eva Ammann and Michael Maeder; back row, from left: STC’s Ling Gao, Carrie Ho and Alex Hsu
General manager Ling Gao said: “We expect the biggest growth of our business from Asia over the foreseeable future. With the opening of the office in Hong Kong, we have made sure to be prepared for this potential by becoming closer to our customers.”
The Hong Kong office will initially serve mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Bookings from other Asian markets are handled by the head office in Zurich for the time being, with the possibility of being transferred to the Hong Kong office in future.
“More and more guests from Asia are travelling to Switzerland, often by group tours through several cities. They want to return for a longer visit to Switzerland to share its grandeur with their children,” Gao said.
“The increased interest is a good reason for opening our Asia-based office. Another core reason is of course that we would like to enhance our service to the Asian industry and clients.”
China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea – where mono groups are on the up – are currently the DMC’s key Asian markets. New potential markets identified in the DMC’s longer term plans include Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Zurich-based CEO Michael Maeder explained why Hong Kong was chosen as the company’s Asian base over Singapore and Beijing.
“Criteria like the ease of getting a visa, professionalism and taxes were considered. We made the right choice and still have a team in Zurich to take care of customers from Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Taiwan. Both teams stay in very close contact with suppliers in Asia and partners in Switzerland.
“Looking ahead, we hope to grow using a hub-and-spoke model with representatives appointed in other cities to support our hub office in Hong Kong. Our representative in Beijing, for instance, continues to promote our company within the travel trade in support of that development.”
Meanwhile, the DMC will continue to attend the trade activities organised by Switzerland Tourism and engage individual tour operators through activities such as sales calls, workshops or organising fam trips to Switzerland, Gao shared,
“For instance, we will join STE China next February and engage in sales calls in mainland China afterwards.”
Lim Ba Bin, a respected veteran of Malaysia’s tourism industry, passed away peacefully on December 10. He was 79 years old.
Lim joined Mayflower Acme Tours in 1973 and over the years rose up the ranks to eventually become the company’s senior general manager. After leaving Mayflower in 1990, he set up Babin Tours, a company specialising in longhaul inbound travel from Europe and the US.
In memory of Lim Ba Bin (Credit: Chang Ken Sheng)
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Tributes have poured in for the passing of this industry pioneer.
Chang Wee Fatt, managing director, Global Holidays, shared that in his younger days, both him and his peers thought of Lim as an icon who readily shared his industry knowledge with them.
“He was also a very simple person, with his trademark white shirt, and in winter he used to do sales calls without wearing a winter jacket,” Chang recalled.
Arokia Das Anthony, director, Luxury Tours Malaysia, also spoke fondly of Lim. When Arokia went on his first sales trip to Milan in 1993, Lim showed him around the city and how to use the public transportation, adding that Lim “was like a kind uncle who gave me the confidence I needed to go out on my own”.
Tunku Iskandar Tunku Abdullah, group executive chairman, Melewar Group, said: “I have known Lim since the early ’70s, when I ventured into the travel and tourism industry.
“He was someone who was deeply committed and involved in several key organisations including MATTA (The Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents), PATA and Skal International Kuala Lumpur. Lim always voiced out his opinions regarding important industry issues. He had friends the world over, and like me, they will be saddened to know of his passing.”
Azizan Noordin, former CEO at Langkawi Development Authority, also spoke highly of Lim, calling him “approachable, soft spoken and knowledgeable”, with vast experience in the field of guiding and travel agency business.
“When I started work with the Tourist Development Cooperation in 1978, he was like a teacher to me, and provided good advice on the development of the tourism industry. We will miss him and may God bless his soul,” Azizan said.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$45 million loan to help Vietnam transform secondary towns into more economically inclusive, competitive tourism destinations.
The Second Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Tourism Infrastructure for Inclusive Growth Project will construct climate-resilient transport and urban infrastructure needed to boost tourist arrivals and tourism services investment in Hoa Binh, Nghe An, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces.
Most tourism growth and corresponding socioeconomic benefits are concentrated in a few gateway destinations, says ADB’s Steven Schipani
It will also develop urban green spaces and public beaches in these provinces, where the project is expected to benefit about 168,000 residents and more than eight million visitors annually.
“Tourism is growing rapidly in Vietnam, but most growth and corresponding socioeconomic benefits are concentrated in a few gateway destinations. To promote more inclusive and sustainable growth, it’s important for Vietnam to increase public and private investment in secondary towns,” said ADB project administration unit head for Vietnam, Steven Schipani.
Specifically, the project will upgrade about 31km of urban-rural roads and 13 passenger piers to provide visitors and residents with more convenient access to cultural and historic sites in all participating provinces.
To help Nghe An’s Cua Lo town attract more and higher-spending visitors year-round and adapt to climate change, the project will rehabilitate a 5.5km seawall and beachfront drainage, improve public recreation areas and expand market space for local vendors.
Quang Tri’s Cua Viet and Cua Tung beaches will benefit from similar investments.
Using training, certification programmes, and policy incentives, the project will also help ensure that tourism management in project areas meets standards set by ASEAN.
The integrated project design incorporates lessons from more than 15 years of ADB support to foster inclusive and sustainable tourism in Vietnam. This includes the ongoing 2014–2019 GMS Tourism Infrastructure for Inclusive Growth Project and successfully completed GMS Sustainable Tourism Development Project and GMS Mekong Tourism Development Project.
1. Floating sphere-shaped rooms
The Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki, Japan has unveiled spherical hotel rooms floating on the bay off the bay. Each pod is arranged over two floors, with the upper level containing a bed and the lower level a lounge area. The self-contained units also has its own bath and toilet facilities. Guests can choose to moor offshore while they are asleep or to be in gentle motion between the park and an uninhabited island nearby.
Floating capsules at the Huis Ten Bosch theme park
2. Air taxi trials get green light
German company Volocopter has developed air taxis for inner-city transport, with these “flying cars” already approved for trials in Singapore next year. Each electrically powered drone aircraft (Volocopter) can fly two people for distances of less than 30km, and can be manoeuvred by a pilot or remote control. The trials will test the feasibility of Volocopters and their flight modes in Singapore’s environment.
Air taxis may soon take off in SingaporePepper 2E part of the TUI team
3. TUI’s robot hire
A humanoid robot named Pepper 2E in August joined TUI Nordic’s new Data Analytics and Machine Learning team in the Stockholm office. This semi-humanoid robot understands and speaks in numerous languages and can understand human emotions. Pepper’s touch screen increases his capacity to interact and enables him to enhance communication by providing visual information.
4. Morpheus descends in Macau
Named after the god of dreams in Greek mythology, Morpheus hotel debuted in Macau on June 15 as the world’s first free-form exoskeleton high-rise architectural structure, designed by the late starchitect Zaha Hadid. Apart from 770 guestrooms, suites and villas, the architectural marvel is home to Alain Ducasse at Morpheus, chef Alain Ducasse’s first restaurant in Macau.
5. The ‘Rubik’s Cube’ winery
Taking the immersive winery experience to the next level is the d’Arenberg Cube in McLaren Vale, South Australia. Inspired by a Rubik’s Cube, the five-storey building ‘floats’ among the Mourvèdre vines and features an entrance door said to spin and fold open like origami. Its five levels are designed for the senses with features including a virtual fermenter, a 360-degree video room, a wine fog room, and a flower and fruit room with puffers you can inhale of one of the 72 wines they produce.
D’Arenberg Cube takes winemaking showcases to another level
6. ‘Craft beer airline’ now boarding
Scottish craft beer brewer BrewDog is chartering a “bespoke BrewDog Boeing 767” to cruise from London Stansted to Columbus Ohio in February 2019. On board, passengers will be treated to a new beer created to taste better at altitude. In Ohio, they will be taken on a behind-the-scene tour of BrewDog Columbus, a walking tour to discover bars in the city and a day trip to Cincinnati breweries. Tickets are for the flight are on sale now, but are available only for “Equity Punks”, or those who invested in the company during its crowdfunding round.
BrewDog plane taking Equity Punks from London Stansted to Columbus Ohio to embark on a beer tour
7. AR baggage measurement tool
Kayak’s augmented reality (AR) baggage measurement tool was created to help travellers determine whether or not their luggage will fit in the overheads bins of an airline before arriving at the airport. Available via the Kayak app on all iOS devices running iOS 11.3 and up, the tool also compares baggage fee policies for all Kayak tracked airlines.
8. Paging for home-based agents
Singapore-based Chan Brothers Group has launched the ten Travel Envoy platform (ten stands for “travel entrepreneur network”) to recruit travel agent “envoys”. Besides getting destination and product training, Envoys can earn five per cent commission per package sold. Those who wish to plan and customise FIT packages for their customers will be charged to use a premium platform from the second year. Not only does this system help Chan Brothers distribute its packages to a wider market, it also serves as an alternative to recruit travel agents, an increasingly challenging task today.
9. VR deep-dive into the Philippines
The Philippine Department of Tourism this year turned to virtual reality (VR) technology to promote dive tourism, a step up from mere photographs of the country’s underwater attractions including Tubbataha Reef, Anilao in Batangas, Malapascua and Bantayan Island in Cebu. VR goggles were made available during European sorties and international dive shows, with scenes curated by Studio H20 Philippines whose staff are all experienced scuba divers and professional underwater videographers and photographers.
10. Creative neighbourhood spotlight
Following the 2017 launch of the Old Town Central programme, Hong Kong Tourism Board picked Sham Shui Po to spotlight in its latest neighbourhood campaign this year. It turns the neighbourhood into a playground for the young and creative to discover authentic local flavours, such as by allowing visitors to scan QR codes to access information at various points of interests. A Sham Shui Po Self-guided Walks guide was also created, featuring walking routes recommended by local personalities and 65 thematic points of interest.
Sham Shui Po Man Fung Building
11. UnDiscover Australia
The challenge of attracting repeat tourists was taken head on with a new campaign inviting visitors to UnDiscover Australia. Launched in September, the A$10 million (US$7.3 million) campaign aims to challenge perceptions of Australia which is known for koalas, kangaroos, the outback and iconic landmarks, and instead showcases unusual and unexpected attractions on offer. These include climbing the roof of the Adelaide Oval to enjoy 60-degree views of the city skyline at sunset or swimming with sharks.
12. Upgrading the longhaul experience
What can an airline do to bump up the comfort level on the world’s longest air route? Well, remove economy class and put in a bevy of entertainment and meal options. That’s what Singapore Airlines did when its daily Singapore-New York service took off in October. The new Airbus A350-900ULR used to operate the ultra-longhaul flight features only premium economy and business class seats, and serves up wellness cuisine curated by chefs and nutritionists from luxury spa company Canyon Ranch.
This website will hold Best Western's entire suite of products and services
Best Western Hotels & Resorts has launched a brand-new website dedicated to providing essential information for hotel developers and owners.
The new website, www.bestwesternasiadevelopers.com, offers information of Best Western’s global brands, an interactive map that allows users to visualise the company’s existing portfolio of 13 different brands ranging from economy to upper-upscale, and an overview of its regional pipeline of properties.
This website will hold Best Western’s entire suite of products and services
Olivier Berrivin, Best Western Hotels & Resorts’ managing director of international operations – Asia, said: “With our new website, we are putting our full collection of products and services at the fingertips of our Asian partners.”
Sadie Hotel and Aiden Hotel, which launched in September 2018, are dedicated to conversion projects. These are now available alongside classic brands Best Western, Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier. The brand portfolio also includes Vīb and GLō, midscale concepts that are tailored to new-build projects; and two soft brands, BW Premier Collection by Best Western and BW Signature Collection by Best Western, which allow owners to retain their distinctive style and identity. Meanwhile, Executive Residency by Best Western enables developers to tap into the trend for extended stays.
Finally, recently-launched franchise offerings – SureStay Hotel by Best Western, SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western and SureStay Collection by Best Western – provide three options for owners and developers who want to avoid high costs, while also harnessing the power and support of a global brand.
Best Western currently operates a portfolio of 56 hotels and resorts across South-east Asia and Japan, comprising more than 5,000 rooms across five of its brands. This region-wide inventory is set to more than double in the coming years, with over 6,800 rooms expected to open across Asia.
In total, Best Western has 37 hotels in its Asian pipeline, covering seven of the company’s 13 brands.
Tour to Feast, spearheaded by Cox & Kings, has been launched to introduce travellers to journeys across India’s most popular culinary destinations, with a slice of history.
Each of these journeys is designed and accompanied by experts who will take travellers through the evolution of the indigenous cuisines of each region.
Culinary diversity is one of India’s treasures; an assorted range of Indian dishes pictured
Speaking at the launch, Debolin Sen, head, Tour to Feast, said the tours cover food tasting at bazaars, food walks, home dining experiences, opportunities to “cook like a local” and informative sharing of the origins of cuisine.
Karan Anand, head, relationships, Cox & Kings said: “Each region’s culture can be best introduced through its food. We see a substantial increase in the number of tourists integrating culinary tours as part of their travel experiences. In India, each state has unique flavours, delectable cuisines and stories of bygone eras and their influence on food – the richness of these experiences needs to be presented in a very unique way and through a niche offering like Tour to Feast.”
To begin with, Tour to Feast will offer journeys across the most popular culinary destinations in India like Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaipur, Agra and Goa. Travellers can choose from an array of customised culinary holidays.
Tour to Feast itineraries fall under several categories. First, there’s Feast On, for an all-round destination experience including historical monuments, markets, cooking classes and sit-down meals with local chefs.
Cook like a Local is for those who enjoy or want to learn how to cook a region’s cuisine and get a deeper understanding of the produce on offer. Guests opting for this can expect a mix of cooking classes and demonstrations by local chefs and home cooks, market and farm tours, and cocktail workshops.
The third category is Forgotten Worlds with a heritage element. Itineraries will include heritage trails, cooking classes, home-dining experiences featuring forgotten recipes, and dying regional art forms.
Foodscapes takes participants through the various culinary pockets that make up a destination, giving a deeper understanding of the communities. Participants can meet locals and learn quintessential home-style recipes, set out on heritage trails, and enjoy street food walks served with a slice of history.
Finally, there’s Eat Retreat, where guests can slow down and enjoy organic farming activities, spice plantation tours, rustic meals, cooking workshops, and even yoga and meditation sessions.
The soon-to-open dusitD2 Ao Nang, Krabi has launched a special opening offer starting from 2,220++ baht (US$68++) per night.
Available for booking from now until March 31, 2019, the offer is valid for stays from December 15, 2018 to April 15, 2019. Price includes 40 per cent off Dusit’s Best Available Rate, complimentary breakfast, and other benefits.
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Bookings made before January 15, 2019 for a minimum stay of three consecutive nights will also qualify for a complimentary room upgrade.
Members of Dusit Hotels & Resorts’ guest loyalty programme, Dusit Gold, will also be entitled to an additional 10 per cent discount. Guests can sign up to the Dusit Gold programme for free at www.dusitgold.com.
The property located in downtown Ao Nang offers 173 guestrooms and suites, with facilities such as an all-day-dining restaurant, a 200m2 ballroom, an outdoor swimming pool with a separate children’s pool, children’s playground, and spa. Excursions such as rock climbing, jungle treks and boat trips to nearby islands are available too.
Peter Neto has rejoined Fusion as the general manager of Fusion Resort Phu Quoc, having headed another property under the Vietnamese hospitality group earlier.
In his most recent role, he was the general manager of The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort in Malaysia.
Prior to that, he had also helmed Cassia Cottage Resort on Phu Quoc from 2016 to 2017, Alma Oasis Long Hai (then a Fusion-managed seaside property) near Ho Chi Minh City from 2014 to 2015, and Tanjong Jara Resort and Gaya Island Resort for YTL Hotels in Malaysia between 2011 and 2013.
The hospitality veteran’s career spans over 20 years worldwide, including various countries across Asia with groups such as Rocco Forte Hotels and The Ritz-Carlton.
Encore Melaka, the new live art performing theatre at integrated mixed development Impression City by Yong Tai, has appointed TP Long as general manager.
In his new role, Long will oversee the strategic business growth and overall operations of Encore Melaka, including its ticketing sales and global market expansion.
Long has over 20 years of experience in the tourism, hospitality and education industry, spanning international trade and markets including India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Saudi Arabia, the UAE & Australia.
Travelport will be acquired by affiliates of Siris Capital Group and Evergreen Coast Capital in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately US$4.4 billion, expected to close in 2Q2019.
Under the terms of the agreement, Siris and Evergreen, the private equity affiliate of Elliott Management Corporation, will acquire all the outstanding common shares of Travelport for US$15.75 per share in cash.
Travelport offices in Cumberland, Georgia
Travelport will become a privately held company upon completion of the transaction by the US-based private equity firms and its common shares will no longer be listed on any public market. Its headquarters will remain in Langley, UK.
In a statement, Travelport said it may actively solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties during a “go-shop” period from the date of the agreement through January 23, 2019. It will have the right to terminate the agreement with Siris and Evergreen to enter into a superior proposal subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement.
Doug Steenland, chairman of the board of directors of Travelport, said: “Assisted by external advisers, the board concluded unanimously, after taking into account the ongoing development needs of the business, that entering into this agreement (to be acquired by Siris and Evergreen) represents the best way to maximise value for shareholders.
“It also enables the company to continue its work to position itself for growth in the evolving global travel industry.”
Gordon Wilson, president and CEO of Travelport, commented: “Travelport welcomes this proposed transaction with Siris and Evergreen, who are specialist technology platform investors. Throughout the process, Siris and Evergreen have demonstrated their deep technology expertise… We will continue to develop and invest in our platform to serve the changing needs of our customers in the travel industry. It is very much business as usual at Travelport and we look forward to this new era in the company’s development.”
On the decision to acquire Travelport, Frank Baker, co-founder of Siris Capital, said Travelport has a track record of develop and bringing to market distribution capabilities, technology services, payment solutions and other value-add digital tools for the global travel industry.
Jesse Cohn, partner at Elliott, too highlighted Travelport’s travel technology platform and B2B payments offering (eNett).
The transaction is not subject to any financing condition.
