US government shutdown affects national parks, monuments

January 22, 2018

whitehouse — About a third of the more than 400 national park sites across the country are completely closed

Many key tourist attractions and national parks have had their regular operations disrupted due to the US government shutdown, which began on Saturday.

The federal government will stop paying staff for duties that are classed as “non-essential”, which affects many but not all tourist facilities in the country.

About a third of the more than 400 national park sites across the country are completely closed

The partial government shutdown will not affect front-line staff in international and domestic aviation – air-traffic control, Customs & Border Protection and airport security in the US – as these are classed as essential workers and therefore will continue to report for duty and be paid as normal.

The Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service (NPS), has issued an “Important Shutdown Notice” to announce that the NPS is “conducting no park operations and providing no visitor services”.

The National Parks Conservation Association estimated that about a third of the more than 400 national park sites across the country are completely closed, reported the Los Angeles Times.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo yesterday announced that the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which was forced to close on Sunday due to the federal government shutdown, will be open for visitors on Monday, with New York state picking up the tab for federal workers.

In San Francisco, one of main destinations in the Bay Area, Alcatraz, is affected by the shutdown. Ferries are still running to take tourists to The Rock, and the island will stay open. However, rangers will not be available to give tours and tourists won’t be able to visit at night either.

Most American museums will not be affected as the vast majority are not fun by the federal government.

For visitors to the US, the ESTA system for online travel authorisation will continue to function as normal.

Gardens by the Bay founder Kiat W Tan to retire

By TTG Asia

January 22, 2018

Dr_Kiat_W_Tan_RS — Tan's "City in a Garden" vision came to be hugely pivotal

Founding CEO of Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay, Kiat W Tan, will step down from his role on February 15, to be succeeded by current COO, Felix Loh.

With a career built around the stewardship of nature, Tan has dedicated over 30 years to conserving the natural heritage in an increasingly urbanised Singapore.

Tan, with his vision of Singapore as a “City within a Garden”, played a pivotal role in the development of the city’s green spaces and key attractions

He was instrumental in the conceptualisation and development of Gardens by the Bay, and has also held several senior appointments, including founding CEO of National Parks Board from 1990 to 2006.

Envisioning Singapore as a “City in a Garden”, Tan intensified Singapore’s green spaces through the development of more green lungs and corridors. He also laid out the master plan for the redevelopment of Singapore Botanic Gardens and spearheaded its transformation into a world-class botanical institution.

He introduced the Singapore Garden Festival in 2006 and was instrumental in helping Singapore win the opportunity to host the 20th World Orchid Conference in 2011.

After his retirement, Tan will continue to play an important role in the progress of the Gardens as corporate advisor. This will include providing landscape and horticultural advice for the upcoming development of the Founders’ Memorial at Bay East Garden.

His successor, Loh, a horticulturist by training, joined the Gardens four years ago and has more than 20 years of experience in parks management, horticulture and landscape industry development, and policy development.

A former National Parks Board scholar, Loh had also served in the Ministry of National Development in various capacities, overseeing infrastructure policies, human resource, finance and corporate development functions.

Emirates comes to A380’s rescue with US$16bn deal

By TTG Asia

January 22, 2018

emirates-a380 — Emirates has a combined 178 A380s in its existing fleet and on order

Talk of the Airbus A380 falling off the production line has been thrashed for now with Emirates announcing a US$16 billion order for 36 additional Airbus A380 aircraft, with 20 firm orders and 16 options.

With no orders made on the A380 last year, and some in the industry pegging it a less viable and efficient aircraft compared to the Dreamliner, Airbus COO John Leahy reportedly stated last Monday the company might have to axe the A380 should Emirates not put down an order.

Emirates has a combined 178 A380s in its existing fleet and on order

Just days after, Emirates extended this very lifeline to the A380. The 36 additional Airbus A380s will be delivered to Emirates from 2020 onwards – together with the airline’s 101-strong A380 fleet and its current order backlog for 41 aircraft – will bring the airline’s commitment to the A380 programme to 178 aircraft, worth over US$60 billion.

Some of the new A380s will go towards fleet replacement, according to Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group.

“We’ve made no secret of the fact that the A380 has been a success for Emirates. Our customers love it, and we’ve been able to deploy it on different missions across our network, giving us flexibility in terms of range and passenger mix,” Ahmed explained.

Other winning qualities of the A380, he added, are “the technology and real estate on board” which have given the airline “plenty of room to do something different with the interiors”.

Commented a more optimistic Leahy: “This new order underscores Airbus’ commitment to produce the A380 at least for another 10 years. I’m personally convinced more orders will follow Emirates’ example and that this great aircraft will be built well into the 2030s.”

Thailand in demand as Spanish longhaul bookings pick up

By TTG Asia

January 22, 2018

In Spain, intercontinental flight bookings for 1H2018 are 4.4 per cent ahead of where they were at the same time last year, with Indonesia and Thailand the South-east Asian destinations growing fastest in popularity, according to ForwardKeys.

Forecasting travel patterns based on forward booking data, ForwardKeys reported that interest in Indonesia is up 14.1 per cent, while Thailand is seeing a 13.7 per cent increase in demand from Spanish travellers. As well, Vietnam ranked the 10th fastest growing longhaul destinations for Spaniards, up 11.7 per cent. Other Asian destinations ranking in the top 10 fastest growing destinations are the Maldives (+29.1 per cent) and China (+25.3 per cent).

The longhaul destinations currently showing the greatest growth in bookings are Egypt (+60.6 per cent) which is recovering from a period of internal political unrest; the Dominican Republic (+48.8 per cent) which is benefitting from a new winter-season flights operated by Wamos Air; and Cuba (+42.6 per cent), which has been experiencing a tourism boom.

Specifically for the Easter holiday season (March 19-April 1), the longhaul destination currently most in demand among Spaniards is the US, which has a dominant 28 per cent share of the segment. The next most popular intercontinental destination is Thailand with a 10 per cent market share, followed by Cuba, Argentina and Japan, all with a four per cent share.

Overall, the flight data company expects growth in longhaul travel to be lifted by new routes from Barcelona and Madrid as well as greater enthusiasm for Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt and Thailand.

Commenting on the findings, CEO of ForwardKeys, Olivier Jager, said: “This is a healthy outlook. One has to be particularly pleased for Egypt, as it is a fabulous destination that has suffered greatly in recent years and, like Spain, is heavily dependent on tourism.

“Also, one cannot help but be impressed by Thailand’s and Cuba’s progress in attracting Spanish visitors, as both have significant shares of the market and are showing strong growth in forward bookings.”

Hyatt in organisational reconfiguration, creates chief commercial officer position

By TTG Asia

January 22, 2018

Banikarim,+Maryam+2 — Banikarim, appointed global CMO in 2015, will leave Hyatt after April

Hyatt Hotels Corporation will realign its corporate leadership team and operations to allow for faster execution of its growth strategy, announced president and CEO Mark Hoplamazian.

The key changes, expected to be completed in 2Q2018, include the formation of a new commercial services portfolio at the executive committee level to combine guest and customer engagement functions under a new chief commercial officer position.

Banikarim, appointed global CMO in 2015, will leave Hyatt after April

The company is also consolidating managed and franchised hotel operations and owner relations into one portfolio, reporting to Chuck Floyd, global president of operations. The legal and corporate services portfolio is also being realigned under new leadership.

“In order to achieve our growth potential and capitalise on opportunities that come from rapidly-emerging consumer, industry and competitive developments, we must be leaner and more agile,” said Hoplamazian. “This starts at the top with our leadership, and we are making changes to streamline the executive committee and to better enable us to maximise our core hotel business and continue our expansion into new lines of business.”

Reporting directly to Hoplamazian, the chief commercial officer will oversee a portfolio that includes global sales functions, global marketing functions, the global contact centers and information technology. The selection process for the chief commercial officer is expected to complete in the second quarter.

As a part of the organisational realignment, two executives have decided to transition out of Hyatt later this year. Global chief marketing officer Maryam Banikarim and global head of capital strategy, franchising and select service Steve Haggerty will leave Hyatt in the coming months. Their positions will be eliminated upon their departures.

Banikarim will continue to lead the marketing organisation through the end of April, and Haggerty will remain at Hyatt as a special advisor to the CEO through July focused on executing important transactions, among other things.

Margaret Egan, who has served as interim general counsel since last October, is promoted to general counsel, reporting to Hoplamazian.

The loyalty and new business platforms area led by Mark Vondrasek as well as the data, innovation and business transformation area led by Alex Zoghlin will remain in place, with both Vondrasek and Zoghlin continuing to report directly to Hoplamazian.

Pandaw adds extended cruise of Myanmar’s coast

By TTG Asia

January 22, 2018

andaman-explorer-myanmar-coast — Ten day option now available for the Mergui Archipelago cruise

Pandaw River Expeditions has developed an extended cruise of Myanmar’s Mergui Archipelago after receiving positive response to the original seven-night version of the itinerary – its first ocean cruise – launched in November 2017.

Onboard the Andaman Explorer, the 10-night Burma Coastal Voyage will depart from Yangon, providing greater ease for guests who previously had to take a flight to the town of Kawthaung to embark the ship. Once in the Mergui Archipelago, the new itinerary will visit a number of islands not included in the seven-night sailing.

For the southbound route, passengers will embark in Yangon and sail down the Yangon River to cruise out to sea. On day two, the Andaman Explorer will moor in the estuary at Kaikkame and passengers will travel by car to Thanbyuzayat to visit the war graves and to explore Mawlamyine, a colonial outpost annexed by the British in 1824. The ship will cruise all day on day three, with an island stop for guests to swim and explore ashore, while day four will see the ship anchor in the mouth of the Dawei creek.

Ten-day option now available for the Mergui Archipelago cruise

The Andaman Explorer will on day five anchor off Myeik, allowing passengers to spend a full day exploring the architectural marvels of the old British port town. Day six starts with a morning visit to Port Maria in Lun Lun Island, populated by Karen people, before sailing to Bailey Island for snorkelling or swimming. On day seven, the ship will cruise through the archipelago and make a stop for guests to swim and snorkel.

Passengers will visit Tann Shey Island on day eight, which forms the main part of Lampi marine national park, to explore the mangroves by kayak and spot wild monkeys. On day nine, the Andaman Explorer will sail the Loughborough Passage, where dolphin sightings are common, and stop to visit a Mokkein sea gypsy village on Phi Lar Island.

And on the final day, the ship will moor off Coxcombe Island to explore the secret lagoon by swimming or by kayak. Andaman Explorer will then continue to Kawthaung, the bustling port city where the cruise ends. After an evening discovering the city and a last night onboard, passengers will transfer to Kawthaung Airport for flights to meet their onward connections.

The Andaman Explorer features 10 suites, with separate sitting room area and private bathrooms.

Prices for the Burma Coastal Voyage start from US$4,450 per person, based on twin occupancy and US$6,350 for single occupancy. This includes 10 nights on Andaman Explorer, local transfers, all excursions stated, entrance fees, guide services (English language), main meals, jugged coffee, selection of teas and tisanes, local soft drinks, local beer, local spirits, mineral water, crew gratuities, kayaks & snorkelling equipment.

The original seven-night The Mergui Archipelago itinerary will continue to operate with departures available from January – April 2018, October – December 2018 and beyond.

For reservations and more information, call (44)-208-326-5620 or go to www.pandaw.com.

Our eight best picks of new product innovations

By TTG Asia

January 20, 2018

Hen-na_Reception_in_Huis_Ten_Bosch — Hen-na Hotel Reception

1. Ahead of its time with hotel robots

The Henn-Na Hotel chain of hotels across Japan employs robots for pretty much all of the day-to-day operations.

Operated by the HIS Group travel agency, the first hotel in the chain opened at the Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki Prefecture in 2015 but the idea of being welcomed by a seven-metre-long Tyrannosaurus Rex has obviously hit the spot with guests and the company opened its third property in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, on August 1 last year.

Now the company also has designs on the overseas market and is rumoured to be looking to open in Shanghai and Taipei in the not-too-distant future.

2. A hotel that transforms, literally

In Malaysia, Ansa Hotels & Resorts developed a hotel concept for its second brand, thelivingroom Hotel, and it looks revolutionary.

Thelivingroom is a three-star, limited-service hospitality concept which, when rolled out in 2H2018, is expected to boast “new ways of serving guests”, such as a flexible check-in service round-the-clock, allowing stays for a full 24 hours upon check-in, which is amazing for a three star.

The most pronounced differentiator, however, is its innovative use of in-room space. An example: a full-sized queen bed that, when not in use, can be reclined and made to disappear behind a wall, revealing a study desk. Add to that a three-seat sofa that opens up into a double-decker bunk bed.

Each room, at only 25m², is smaller than the usual 30-35m² rooms in city hotels, and can fit four people comfortably.

Kudos also goes to Ansa for its idea of recruiting non-working mothers to work on four-hour work shifts to support the hotel operations.

It is only a matter of time before we see more hotels adopting some of the practices of thelivingroom Hotel.

3. Dark sells at this prison-themed hostel

A hostel made to feel like a prison may not be everyone’s idea of Best of the Best, but it certainly gets top points for creativity.

In August, Sook Station in Bangkok raised furore as a prison-themed hostel that “turns travellers into inmates”. Reportedly, it has nine cement-walled rooms – each appropriately small and dark – with bunk beds and sliding doors made with thick bars.

Evoking an authentic prison experience, the hostel is said to offer guests striped pyjamas and the experience of having their mugshots taken. This may however be one of the rare places in the world where detention cells come with Wi-Fi access and air-conditioning.

Sook Station is located at 45-49 Soi Sukhumvit 101/2, Bangkok.

4. Passion Tribes and its surprising tour initiations

One of the campaigns under the Singapore Tourism Board’s and Economic Development Board’s new Passion Made Possible brand, Passion Tribes presents a list of new and revamped tours that revolves around authentic local experiences, such as a next-generation hawker food tour, a vintage Vespa tour through heritage gems and a business-focused tour of Singapore’s old and new industries.

The campaign also supports tours provided by hotels, such as Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa’s colonial and war tour in the island of Sentosa.

5. Movie Animation Parks Studio ushers the rise of Ipoh

More than letting visitors get up close and personal with movie characters they know and love, Movie Animation Parks Studio, the 21ha theme park in Ipoh which opened in June last year, provides a reason for visitors from Kuala Lumpur travelling to Penang by road to stopover in Ipoh.

Case in point: some agents who used to sell Ipoh as day trips have turned this theme park, touted as Asia’s first movie animation theme park, into a one-night itinerary in Ipoh. Some also extend the itinerary further by combining it with the nearby Sunway’s Lost World of Tambun theme park.

The theme park showcases international animation characters from DreamWorks Animation and The Smurfs alongside local favourite animation character BoBoiBoy and Stunt Legends, billed as South-east Asia’s first car & bike live stunt show.

There are more than 40 attractions, based on both international and local characters, in six themed zones. Mr Peabody and Sherman, The Croods and other characters from DreamWorks Animation come alive in The Dream Zone.

6. Changi’s new terminal gets in the FAST lane with automation

Singapore Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 (T4) went live with new end-to-end check-in and security technology when it officially began operations on October 31. This makes T4 the country’s first terminal to offer fully automated departure processes for passengers. Termed Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) – but of course – the system runs automated check-in kiosks and baggage drop, as well as uses biometric data for immigration and boarding. This marks a critical milestone for the airport as these new technology, systems and procedures are likely to shape the future of air travel in the destination.

7. GoUmrah.travel go

GoUmrah.travel could be the one-stop travel booking answer for Muslim pilgrims.

Launched in October last year, the website offers the flexibility to customers to book their own Umrah trips – including the components of flights, hotels, transfers, visits to holy sites and Islamic attractions, meals, travel insurance and visa processing.

Developed and maintained by Sutra Travel & Tourism Management Group, the portal also handles visa application and processing for Umrah pilgrims all over the world.

8. The unprecedented change at Walled City of Intramuros

The Walled City of Intramuros, probably Manila’s most popular attraction, was given a sprucing up at a scale never seen before.

Fort Santiago’s Paseo de Soledad has reopened with new landscape and lighting, while Plaza Moriones now has new flowering trees skiritng its sides and a fountain at the centre.

The refresh is a work-in-progress, with CCTV cameras, restrooms and more trees to follow. Also opening this year are the Rajah Soliman Theatre, dungeons and several reception venues.

These followed a general clean-up of Intramuros, relocation of informal
settlers in batches, concealing overhead cables and banning certain transportation.

This feature is part of TTG Asia’s January/February 2018 issue, read more here

Sea Life aquarium coming to Legoland Malaysia in 4Q

By S Puvaneswary

January 19, 2018

Legoland Malaysia Resort will in 4Q2018 welcome a new attraction, the Sea Life Malaysia, in a first-time partnership with global aquarium chain Sea Life.

Occupying 2,123m² of land space, the two-storey aquarium will have more than 25 display tanks in 11 habitat zones, featuring thousands of sea creatures. Sea Life Malaysia will also have zones themed after the Johor River, the main river in the Malaysian state of Johor and the Malaysian Rainforest.

(From right) Legoland’s Kurt Stocks, Tourism Malaysia’s Seri Mirza, and Johor State Tourism’s Tee Siew Kiong

Kurt Stocks, general manager at Legoland Malaysia Resort, does not see Sea Life Malaysia as a rival to the much larger S.E.A. Aquarium at Resort World Sentosa in Singapore, an attraction boasting over 100,000 marine animals of 1,000 species, across 50 different habitats.

He explained: “Lego mini figures will be integrated into the Sea Life experience and this is the point of differentiation between this aquarium and others.”

Also, children will get to interact with the sea creatures up-close and learn about their natural habitats. Through storytelling and up-close interaction, Sea Life Malaysia aims to engage and inspire children to lean, love and care for the ocean and the creatures that live in it.

The attraction is believed to make Legoland Malaysia Resort the first family-focused resort in the country to offer interactive and educational experiences with marine life.

Speaking to TTG Asia, Stocks said: “Quite possibly we will attract a new segment of tourists such as researchers and conservationists.” He also expects the new marine attraction to bolster overall visitor numbers to Legoland Malaysia.

Visitors will have the option to purchase a ticket to visit only SEA Life or bundled with other attractions.

Travel marketeers react to Facebook’s News Feed change

By Xinyi Liang-Pholsena

January 19, 2018

facebook-news-feed — News Feed algorithm changes may deprioritise brand content

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg last week announced that the social media platform’s News Feed algorithms will be revamped to boost “meaningful” posts from family members and friends over those from media and businesses, leading marketeers to ponder if the latest change will have significant ramifications for travel brands and businesses that use Facebook pages to drive organic engagement.

The social media giant’s latest announcement is nothing novel, observed Lionel Lee, partner at Playmakers, a social media consultancy in Singapore, as the organic reach, or the exposure of non-paid content, of businesses on Facebook “has been significantly reduced over the years”, resulting in brands having “to fight harder and smarter” to get customers’ attention and delivering targeted messaging to the right audience.

News Feed algorithm changes may deprioritise brand content

An audience-centred approach is what Urban Rhythms Tours, Adventures and Travel’s director Nigel Wong has already adopted for the Kuala Lumpur-based agency, which targets millennials as its core business segment.

He commented: “The changes will be good for our Facebook page, Big Blue Holidays, which we will launch end of January. We create authentic, original content in the form of videos of our trips and product offerings, which friends and viewers will want to repost, comment and share with others through social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google Plus.”

The firm currently allocates about 10 per cent of its marketing budget on Facebook ads while the rest of its budget is on traditional media and digital marketing including Google ad words and YouTube advertisements, shared Wong. There are no plans to increase its advertising budget this year.

Jamie Tan, senior e-commerce executive, H.I.S. International Travel, meanwhile, acknowledges the need to “focus (on) having more interactive posts so as to maintain a high level of customer engagement with our followers” on Facebook with its recent News Feed changes.

For others like Surabaya-based Aneka Kartika Tours, for which social media is not a main communication tool, any changes to Facebook’s algorithms will have minimal impacts on its customer outreach strategy, said director of operations Adjie Wahjono.

Instead, Adjie relies on her personal influence to drive engagement and traffic for the company on Facebook. “As my personal page’s follower numbers are much bigger (than Aneka Kartika), I repost and share posts on my own page to reach out to a wider audience like the hoteliers and industry players overseas on my friend list, who may not be our suppliers and partners yet.”

Playmakers’ Lee hence urged travel marketeers to “let go of the thought of Facebook as a free advertising space to connect with audiences” and instead “embrace forward-thinking strategies and incorporate an audience-centric approach into their social media marketing”.

It’s presumptuous to speculate if Facebook’s algorithm shift will be as pronounced and dramatic as made out to be, according to Lee.

“Mark Zuckerberg’s vision to make Facebook’s interactions more meaningful is not a day of reckoning for brands; it’s elevating the information transfer between brands and consumers,” he surmised.

Additional reporting by S Puvaneswary, Mimi Hudoyo and Pamela Chow

Country Inn & Suites renamed to ride Radisson recognition

By TTG Asia

January 19, 2018

country-inn-&-suites-mysore — Country Inn & Suites By Radisson Mysore in India, where Radisson has a strong presence

Country Inn & Suites By Carlson has changed its name to Country Inn & Suites By Radisson to leverage the strength and recognition of the Radisson brand.

Country Inn & Suites by Radisson is a part of the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, which also includes Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson Red, Park Plaza and Park Inn by Radisson.

Country Inn & Suites By Radisson Mysore in India, where Radisson has a strong presence

To be made in stages throughout 1H2018 are consumer-facing changes including new visual identity, updated logo and refreshed marketing and hotel collateral. But with over 480 hotels globally – including 24 hotels in Asia-Pacific and 11 under development in India – some hotels might continue to use the former name past 2018.

On top of leveraging the strength of the Radisson brand, the new name is also expected to drive awareness and increase marketing efficiency, said Katerina Giannouka, president, Asia-Pacific, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.

“Country Inn & Suites is a market leader in the mid-scale segment in India. Identification with our core brand Radisson will lend further strength to its brand identity and appeal to investors and promoters in the promising, fast growing mid-scale segment”, added Raj Rana, CEO, South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.

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