Michael Colglazier will take charge of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ Asia Pacific Operation as president and managing director from March 5.
In his new role, the 28-year Disney veteran will be responsible for overseeing the company’s parks and resorts operations and development throughout Asia, including Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Tokyo Disneyland Resort with the Oriental Land Company and Shanghai Disney Resort.
For the past five years, Colglazier has served as president of the Disneyland Resort, where he led a workforce of 30,000 cast members, oversaw the successful 60th anniversary Diamond Celebration and drove the resort’s record business performance and growth.
Mövenpick Suriwongse Hotel Chiang Mai's Classic Room
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has unveiled grand expansion plans for Asia.
Having made its debut in the Thai city of Chiang Mai in November, the company is gearing up to add 1,200 rooms across its eight hotels throughout Asia in 2018, including in Hua Hin, the Maldives, Kuala Lumpur, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Khao Yai.
Mövenpick Suriwongse Hotel Chiang Mai’s Classic Room
Noting a shift in demand from the international market, the company is now breaking turf in secondary locations.
Said president of Asia, Mark Willis: “Historically, if you go back five to 10 years, international travellers went to typical Asian destinations, such as Bangkok, Singapore and Honk Kong. This has changed and people are exploring perhaps two sites, coming into a major city and then carrying on to a secondary resort.”
Vietnam is one example, where six resorts are slated to open by 2020, adding to its current Hanoi offering and covering a vast expanse of the coast – Phu Quoc, Cam Ranh, Quy Nhon, Quang Binh, Danang and Lang Co.
Bruno Huber, general manager and director of operations Vietnam, said: “We can see an increase in arrivals to Vietnam, infrastructure is growing, there are more airports. It is very positive.”
Hong Kong’s creative hub, PMQ, is inviting visitors to step back into the old days of Hong Kong with through exhibits including illustrations, real-life props and trick art.
The exhibition will run until March 31, focused on the scenes and neighbourhood of Hong Kong’s Central and Sheung Wan in the 50s and 60s, including through recreations of a traditional barbershop (Verandah outside S506) and lion dance parade (Verandah outside H502).
Booth simulating barber shop from the 50s and 60s
As well, starting mid-February, the Time Warp Trick Art Installation will use optical illusion techniques to mimic the street scenes as viewed from a balcony of the former Police Married Quarters.
From mid-February onwards, overseas visitors visiting PMQ can redeem a set of paper doll souvenir by presenting valid travel document at PMQ Info Centre (SG01).
The exhibition is open for free from 07.00 to 23.00 daily during the exhibition period.
Package includes vouchers, dining credits, and more
Four Shangri-La hotels in the China World Trade Center Complex are offering stay packages with perks that can be enjoyed across all four properties and the China World Mall.
The deal is available to guests who book in advance at China World Hotel, Beijing; China World Summit Wing, Beijing; Hotel Jen Beijing; and Kerry Hotel, Beijing on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, including public holidays.
Package includes vouchers, dining credits and more
The package includes dining credits for use at any of the hotel’s restaurants; extra bed; access to all four hotels’ health clubs; a voucher for use at China World Summit Wing, Beijing worth RMB200 (US$31.80); a glass of craft beer at Beer Smith at Hotel Jen Beijing; and VIP Gold member shopping discounts at China World Mall.
Also part of the deal are family-friendly inclusions such as two tickets to Le Cool ice rink at China World Mall, three-hour access to Adventure Zone at Kerry Hotel, Beijing and weekend classes for one at China World Hotel, Beijing.
At China World Summit Wing, the package will be priced from RMB1,988 net per night, with RMB700 in dining credits; at China World Hotel, Beijing, it will be RMB1,588, with RMB600 worth of credits; at Hotel Jen Beijing RMB1,388, and RMB500 in dining credits; and at Kerry Hotel, Beijing RMB1,588, with RMB600 in credits.
Numerous luxury developments set to rise on Chao Phraya riverfront
With the rapid expansion of metro lines, mega projects breaking ground and a slew of high-profile hotels in the development pipeline for Bangkok, expectations are high among industry watchers that the Thai capital is at the cusp of becoming a world-class megacity, opening up vast opportunities for the travel and tourism sector.
“The great promise of the East has now become the new West,” said Bill Barnett, managing director of C9 Hotelworks, at the recent Thailand Tourism Forum (TTF) 2018. “Move over New York, move over London. Bangkok will soon join Shanghai and Beijing as a megacity.”
Several massive infrastructure projects like the East Economic Corridor, expansion of the Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang International Airports, and high-speed trains linking the capital to Rayong, among others, are expected to change the face of Bangkok’s development.
Numerous luxury developments set to rise on Chao Phraya riverfront
For Bangkok, which already accounts for half of the tourism receipts into Thailand, “infrastructure is a first and foremost step to success,” stated Nikhom Jensiriratanakorn, director, Horwath HTL, pointing to developed metropolises like Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, Bangkok’s potential as an up-and-coming megacity is not lost on Apichart Chutrakul, CEO of Sansiri, who unveiled at the forum plans to venture outside of the property development sector by bringing The Standard Hotels into Thailand.
This diversification gameplan is also part of the company’s efforts to bring Bangkok “up to standard” with other global urban conglomerations, the real estate mogul declared.
Such sanguine projections are further backed by the city’s surging inbound visitor numbers as well as robust hotel performance in recent years.
In particular, Bangkok’s hotels saw a “really good year” in 2017, achieving an ADR of 3,400 baht (US$108), occupancy levels of 79 per cent and RevPar growth of 4.6 per cent, with records broken for 10 out of 12 months last year, shared Jesper Palmqvist, STR Global’s area director Asia-Pacific at TTF.
“If the stability of the city in the last two, three years – which is already unusual – can be sustained, this will supercharge Bangkok,” he commented.
Furthermore, major luxury hospitality brands like Four Seasons and Capella have already announced hotel projects along Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River, which together with upcoming mega projects like 50 billion baht Icon Siam by local retail developer Siam Piwat, is expected to drive the riverfront as a major growth area in the coming years.
However, industry watchers are keenly aware that it could be too early to pop the champagne, as a number of factors, whether it’s the overstrained airports or Thailand’s looming elections in late 2018, could put a spanner in the works of Bangkok’s ambitions.
Enforcing standards a way to keep consumer confidence up, agents say
Despite the slew of agency closures in Singapore – with Citi Travels & Tours being the latest to shutter its door earlier this month – the trade is hopeful that the resultant smaller pool of firms could lead to higher-quality players and stoke consumer confidence.
Yew Hoong Wong, director of EU Holidays, initially expressed concern that the closure will affect “overall consumer confidence in travel agencies”.
Enforcing standards a way to keep consumer confidence up, agents say
However, he observed that the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has been “more stringent with agents” since the abrupt closure of Five Stars Tours in 2014, and this in turn “instils greater consumer confidence in (the) industry”.
He said: “(STB has) most recently reviewed the Travel Agents Act and Regulations with new measures that began this month. Overall, it is good that they are monitoring and tightening the measures as it helps eliminate errant agents.”
This clampdown also poses “less competition” to surviving agencies, which is vital as online travel players are making it “quite hard to do business” for traditional agents, said Kei Satoh, sales & marketing senior manager, JTB Central Sales Operations (Asia Pacific).
A spokesperson from the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore said: “The suspension of Citi Travels is unlikely to impact the general environment of Singapore’s travel trade. STB’s active enforcement of its requirements and regulations (is) maintaining and building up the professionalism of the industry as a whole.”
Citi Travels & Tours’ suspension came as a result of the agency failing to submit its audited statement of accounts in a timely fashion.
To ensure it can sidestep being at risk, EU Holidays “engage(s) a third party financial compliance officer to regularly check (its) financial health”, shared Wong.
The airline has reversed two unpopular policy decisions in just a month
After facing consumer backlash, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has reversed the decision to automatically charge passengers for travel insurance through an opt-out rather than opt-in feature, according to local media reports.
The airline has reversed two unpopular policy decisions in just a month
Accounts of the online booking inclusion surfaced weeks ago, after unhappy customers took to online forums and local media with complaints that they noticed the travel insurance payment only after booking, Singapore’s Straits Times reports.
This is the second time in a month the airline has backtracked on a policy change. In January, it decided to impose a credit card fee on some travel bookings from Singapore, only to retract the decision the next day.
The charge – 1.3 per cent of the total fare amount, capped at S$50 (US$38.16) – was to apply to those who bought its cheapest Economy Lite tickets, the airline had said.
Penalty for violation is jail time of up to a year or over US$3,000 in fine, or both
Thailand yesterday began its smoking and littering ban on 24 popular tourist beaches across 15 provinces to promote a clean and safe environment.
The smoking ban includes beachside locations at high-volume destinations such as Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Phi Phi and Hua Hin, under the regulations of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources.
Penalty for violation is jail time of up to a year or over US$3,000 in fine, or both
More beaches are expected to be added to the list in the future.
Officials say there will be designated smoking areas provided inland with refuse containers for the disposal of cigarette butts.
Violators will be taken to a criminal court and could face up to one year in jail, or a fine of up to 100,000 baht (US$3,193), or both, reported Reuters.
John Blanco has been appointed general manager of the 101-room Capella Bangkok, which is expected to open in 4Q2018 along the rejuvenated Chao Phraya River waterfront promenade.
Blanco will provide provide strategic guidance to the pre-opening team ensuring operational success and premium positioning of Capella Hotels and Resorts’ first property in Thailand.
An American with roots in Venezuela, the hospitality veteran has 25 years of experience, and possesses a stellar track record with luxury hospitality companies such as Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons.
Etihad Airways’ baggage fees are now calculated based on weight for all markets except the US and Canada, where passengers are still charged based on number of checked bags.
With the switch to a weight-based baggage policy, the majority of markets will be entitled to 23kg of checked baggage on Economy Deal fares, 30kg on Economy Saver and Classic fares, and 35kg on Economy Flex fares.
Customers in all Business Class fare categories are entitled to 40kg, and First Class customers enjoy a 50kg allowance. Guests in The Residence onboard Etihad Airways’ flagship Airbus A380 fleet are provided with an allowance of four bags at 32kg each.
Etihad Guest Silver, Gold and Platinum members will continue to receive a complimentary excess baggage allowance of 32kg on US and Canada routes, and 20kg for Platinum members, 15kg for Gold members and 10kg for Silver members on all other routes.
