FIT Ruums, launched just last year as Webjet’s travel distributor in Asia, has its 10th office in the region with its latest opening in Japan.
The Osaka office joins the company’s network which includes Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China and India.
Makoto Ochiai from FIT Ruums’ new Japan office
By establishing a presence in Japan, FIT Ruums wants to secure a broader choice of hotels in the country and better rates for its clients across Asia, the company said in a press release.
FIT Ruums is now ramping up its contracting activities across Japan, making the country’s hotels available worldwide via WebBeds’ multiple B2B distribution channels – including the recently acquired JacTravel, based in London – as well as Sunhotels and Lots of Hotels, which will generate longhaul bookings from key markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North & South America.
Daryl Lee, CEO of FIT Ruums, commented: “This is the perfect time to enter Japan, as the country’s travel and tourism industry grows from strength to strength.
“Driven by the continued growth of intra-regional travel in Asia, the proliferation of new airlines and routes, and the enduring appeal of Japanese culture, Japan’s tourism industry is currently experiencing a period of unprecedented growth. With the promise of major international events on the horizon, we believe that Japan will become a major global force in the travel and tourism industry in the coming years.”
The country welcomed a record 24 million international visitors in 2016, up 22 per cent year-on-year, and is on track to exceed this number in 2017, having already received 18.9 million arrivals in the first eight months of this year.
John Vasatka will take over as CEO this month for the Ani Villas’ collection of private resorts in Anguilla, Sri Lanka and Thailand, as well as a fourth property due to open later next month in the Dominican Republic.
Vasatka has worked with upscale luxury hotels for nearly two decades, including 12 years as general manager at various Aman Resorts’ locations in the Caribbean, the Middle East, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
His most recent position was general manager at the Malliouhana, an Auberge resort on Anguilla. He will continue to be based there.
In the wake of Vasatka’s appointment, outgoing CEO Ira Bloom will focus on acquisition and management of the assets of the group as owner’s representative for its principal Tim Reynolds, who parted company from Jane Street Capital some years ago to focus on the development of Ani Villas and its philanthropic effort, the Ani Art Academies.
(Two on the right) Big Bus Tours' Ana Araque and Omid Golshan
Ctrip.com International has partnered Big Bus Tours, said to be the world’s largest operator of open-top sightseeing tours, to offer bus tours in 19 cities and four continents.
At present, Chinese travellers can book hop-on hop-off sightseeing tours in 13 cities. Six more Big Bus Tours destinations will be made available online in the coming months.
(Two on the right) Big Bus Tours’ Ana Araque and Omid Golshan
The two will also work together in innovative marketing and product diversification, according to Ctrip.
In particular, the partnership will allow Chinese travellers to use QR codes to join tours and select different sightseeing routes for more a personalised product.
Jiali Wong has been seconded from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to the newly-created position of regional manager for Asia at Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
Based in Singapore, Wong will be responsible for growing industry engagement in the region and supporting the continued growth of cruising in Asia. This includes responsibilities for event development and growing CLIA’s Executive Partner programme in the region.
Wong most recently headed the Cruise Business Development team at STB where she forged interest and networks in the cruise industry. In her previous roles, she handled business development and events management in sectors such as BT MICE and tourism development.
A new Japanese company, Libra Inc, has launched the Tokyo Bar Hopping Tour, taking solo travellers around alleys in Shinjuku and Shibuya where locals usually go to have drinks in Tokyo.
Yasuhiro Suzuki, CEO of Libra Inc, said the idea for the tours came about quite by accident.
Tours offered on Libra Inc’s tour booking site (photo credit: Magical Trip)
Soon after Libra Inc started hiring people from different parts of the world, it became apparent that these foreign colleagues never went out by themselves at night, despite valuing interactions with locals and enjoying nomikai (after-work parties) at izakayas (taverns). Common concerns were if pubs were for regular customers only, language barrier and safety.
When Libra Inc realised there was a lack of groups, tours and meet-ups that could help ease its foreign friends into the drinking culture, it pursued its new tour idea and target audience.
“There just wasn’t enough offers focusing on nightlife for solo travellers that can live up to capturing Japan’s unique drinking culture. At night the local people become so friendly and outgoing even though they are relatively shy in the daytime,” said Iwase Ryosuke, marketer at Libra Inc.
Today, the mission of Tokyo Bar Hopping is to help travellers experience a night out like the locals do.
In the near future, the Japanese company – which recently launched tour booking website Magical Trip – hopes to become a platform for connecting solo travellers with locals.
Ship captain Paolo Ravera readies the champagne waterfall while star travel agents pose with Princess' Farriek Tawfik (fifth from left)
Celebrating its fifth anniversary of operations in South-east Asia, Princess Cruises hosted 150 guests comprising travel agents, Captain’s Circle members and travel partners onboard the Sapphire Princess.
Ship captain Paolo Ravera readies the champagne waterfall while star travel agents pose with Princess’ Farriek Tawfik (fifth from left)
As the ship commenced its homeport season at Singapore’s Marina Bay Cruise Centre, travel agents from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia were recognised for their top sales performance in the respective markets.
Guests were also treated to a musical performance by the Princess Entertainment Team and a dinner at the fine-dining restaurant onboard.
Radisson Blu Resort Hua Hin has appointed Richard Mehr as general manager.
Prior to joining Radisson, the Swiss national was the general manager of Samujana Koh Samui.
Mehr brings with him 28 years of experience in managing hotels and resorts, golf resorts, wellness and high-end luxury properties, including four years as director of sales for a multi-million US company based in Asia and Europe.
He also previously served as group director of operations for Fusion Resorts & Suites in Vietnam, as well as opened and managed two properties, Putahracsa Hua Hin and Banyan The Resort Hua Hin.
Air safety concerns have led to flight cancellations and airport closures
The Mount Agung alert status has been increased from level three to four (the highest) as of 06.00 local time this morning, with Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport declared closed for 18 hours as of 07.17 while Lombok International Airport has been reopened after a brief closure.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported the eruption of the mountain continued increasing from the phreatic to magmatic phases since 21.00 on November 25 with thick ashes spurring up to between 2,000 and 3,400m above the mountain peak.
Air safety concerns have led to flight cancellations and airport closures
“Volcanic ashes have been covering the air above Denpasar, therefore, for safety reasons, I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport is temporarily closed,” read an announcement by the directorate general of civil aviation issued this morning on the air situation in Bali.
The authority will continue monitoring the situation and the status is being evaluated every six hours.
“No activities are allowed within the hazard zone of eight kilometres from the crater plus 10km from the crater to the North-Northeast and Southeast-South sectors,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, head of Central Data Information and Public Relations of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said.
He added that the hazard zone could be subject to change at any time.
Since early morning (as at press time) six flights from China bound for Bali have been redirected to Surabaya, Jakarta and Singapore and one domestic flight was redirected to Surabaya.
Some airlines, including Jet Star, Virgin, KLM and AirAsia, have cancelled their flights to and from Bali yesterday on their own safety measures, translating to about 20 affected flights.
The most extensive and ambitious modernisation of BSP (Billing & Settlement Plan) since it was created in 1971 is set to be rolled out.
The resolution for the full implementation of the New Generation of IATA Settlement Systems (NewGen ISS) was adopted by the Passenger Agency Conference, which comprises IATA member airlines.
“Implementation of NewGen ISS is a critical step forward by the global air transport industry in ensuring that BSP continues to serve the industry’s financial settlement requirements for years to come.
“It is the culmination of a multi-year engagement with participants in the air travel value chain, including airlines, travel agents, and IT and system providers,” said Aleks Popovich, IATA’s senior vice president, financial and distribution services.
Popovich: update years in the making
“It will bring greater options and flexibility to our travel agent partners, while providing even more financial security to airlines,” he added.
The NewGen ISS pillars include a three-level travel agent accreditation that allows travel agents to choose the model most applicable to their business, and to convert across models as their business evolves.
Also introduced is IATA EasyPay, a voluntary pay-as-you-go e-wallet solution for issuance of airline tickets in BSP that offers a lower cost per transaction. As a secure form of payment, IATA EasyPay transactions are not part of a travel agent’s cash sales at risk. This allows travel agents a means to lower their financial security amounts held with IATA, and to issue transactions which are not included in their BSP remittance capacity.
The third is Global Default Insurance (GDI), an optional financial security alternative for travel agents that presents a cost-effective and flexible alternative to bank guarantees and other types of security, an IATA statement said.
A newly added pillar, the Remittance Holding Capacity (RHC) risk management framework, is being introduced to enable safer selling and mitigate losses resulting from travel agency defaults.
For the majority of travel agents, the RHC will be calculated based on the average of the three highest reporting periods of the previous 12 months plus 100 per cent. Furthermore, measures will be available, allowing travel agents to manage their RHC, and to continue selling in a secure manner should their RHC ever be reached.
Meanwhile, the resolution text for the initiative also incorporates provisions related to Transparency in Payments (TIP), which reveals the different features and costs associated with each form of payment and agent remittance of airline funds. As it stands today, airlines only see the settlement costs after the fact, if at all.
No form of remittance is barred by TIP, but travel agents can only use those forms to which an airline has previously given consent. TIP allows travel agents to use their own credit cards – previously not supported in the BSP – if an airline consents.
“TIP provides a pro-competitive framework for bilateral arrangements between airlines and travel agents that will facilitate the introduction of new and innovative payment solutions,” said Popovich.
NewGen ISS and TIP will be rolled out progressively from March 2018. Certain NewGen ISS pillars, including IATA EasyPay and GDI are already available in some markets. GDI has been implemented in more than 20 markets worldwide, while IATA EasyPay is being piloted in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.
Anthony Van Sleeuwen has rejoined Sala Phuket Resort and Spa as its general manager.
He opened the property as executive assistant manager in 2007 and subsequently, became its resident manager.
Van Sleeuwen fills the position left by Jon Ashenden, who is now the group’s vice president hotel operations.
The Australian has also previously held positions such as group director of marketing, as well as cluster general manager for the Sala boutique brand properties in the Sala Bangkok office.
Most recently, Van Sleeuwen was general manager of The Kanda Residence on Koh Samui, and before that, he was leading the sales and marketing team at Fusion Maia Resort in Danang, Vietnam.
