Tourism Fiji has appointed destination marketing company and travel consultancy Xzodus its representative office in Singapore.
The NTO cites Xzodus’ extensive experience in Asian markets as well as key personnel boasting established links in the region for its choice.
Eelian Lee, director of Xzodus, will play the key role as Tourism Fiji’s country manager for Singapore, assisted by Janie Long, who has background in airline, destination marketing and education.
The Organization of Hotel Sales and Marketing Professionals (HSMA) has announced its 2017-2018 board of directors.
The new board comprises hospitality professionals from resorts and hotels from across the Philippines:
New guards: (from left) Jonalyn Agrazada, Celeste Romualdo, Rose Libongco, Margie Munsayac and Christine Urbanozo-Ibarreta
President: Christine Urbanozo-Ibarreta, Golden Phoenix Hotel Manila
Vice-president: Joy de Mesa, Novotel Manila Araneta Center
Secretary: Loleth So, Peninsula Hotel Manila
Treasurer: Rene Lapid, Hotel Fleuris Palawan
Pro: Carmela Hidalgo-Bocanegra, Chroma Hospitality (Crimson and Quest Hotels)
Director, membership: Celeste Romualdo, Best Western Hotel La Corona Manila
Director, programmes: Cristina Silvestre-Carreon, Marriott Hotel Manila
Director, education: Michael Jaey Albana, Conrad Manila
Director, ways & means: Jonalyn Agrazada, Island Cove Hotel and Leisure Park
Meanwhile, Rose Libongco continues to sit as chair of HSMA’s Virtus Awards, now into its third year.
Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) has entered into a partnership agreement with Bangladesh’s NCH Consumer Healthcare for patient referrals to Malaysia.
As the healthcare traveller spending from Bangladesh to Malaysia increased 34 per cent in 2016 from 2015, MHTC is eager to leverage NCH Consumer Healthcare’s network in Chittagong, Bangladesh’s second largest city with a population of over 2.5 million.
NCH Consumer Healthcare’s Rahbar Anwar (left) with Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council’s Sherene Azli at signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur
From 643,000 healthcare travellers to Malaysia in 2011, the segment has grown to more than 921,000 travellers in 2016. Meanwhile, healthcare travel in Malaysia climbed 23 per cent from 2015 to record over RM1.1 billion (US$255.9 million) in hospital revenues.
MHTC CEO, Sherene Azli, commented: “Malaysia Healthcare seeks to establish a stronger brand presence, as well as build greater relationships with Bangladeshi consumers and industry stakeholders. The Asian market plays a key role in our development strategy, with Bangladesh being one of our strongest markets, and one we want to engage with more closely.”
A pharmaceutical company with more than 30 years of operations, NCH Consumer Healthcare is also targeting Malaysia as a preferred destination for Bangladeshi healthcare travellers as it expands its portfolio into healthcare travel.
The Malaysian Immigration Department, with support from the High Commissioner’s office in Bangladesh, has implemented special considerations for registered medical travellers to fast-track their visa applications from five working days to only two, and within 12 hours for emergency medical cases.
As young Singaporeans show a greater yearning for more unusual and offbeat destinations for their holidays, they are also turning to travel agencies for guidance and tours in unfamiliar lands, reported industry veterans at the NATAS Holidays 2017 travel fair last weekend.
Steven Ler, acting president of NATAS, shared that “there has been a spike in searches for increasingly unique and less conventional cities” among Singaporean travellers, citing a 121 per cent rise in searches for Okinawa as revealed in Skyscanner’s recent Singapore Travel Report.
Lesser travelled destinations gaining interest from Singapore millennials; Gyokusendo underground cave, Okinawa, pictured
Besides Okinawa, rustic areas like Tasmania in Australia as well as the Balkans and South-eastern Europe are picking up steam among the millennial travel segment from Singapore.
Adventurous travellers – mostly young couples and families – are opting for self-drive packages especially through Australia, said William Loh, operation manager of Farmosa Holiday Tour.
“Young families like to travel on their own time and target, without the stress of following a schedule,” explained Loh. “We’ve tailor-made many self-drive packages for this segment.”
Also influencing this trend is the availability of more routes from LCCs linking secondary and tertiary cities, said New Shan Travel Service’s assistant general manager Chris Tay. She observed that travellers are choosing to book their own flights before approaching agents to arrange tours.
“The role of travel agents is a bit different now. We need to change to fit the needs and wants of our clients,” opined Tay.
To keep up with the interest, ASA Holidays is rolling out chartered flights to more uncommon destinations like Australia’s Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Myanmar and Guilin, the agency’s director Ristanio Arfando Aripin told TTG Asia.
For Japan specialist HIS Travel, which began offering Free and Easy Plus packages that comprise extra days of land tours three years ago, demand for such trips picked up considerably in the past year as other agents have begun to offer similar packages, observed Eddie Kheng, outbound manager (Singapore market), outbound department.
Despite the growing FIT crowd, travellers still turn to HIS Travel to arrange visits to hidden gems in Japan with more local flavour, added Kheng.
Singapore’s Republic Polytechnic (RP) has announced MoU signings with 14 new industry partners and a revamp of one of its diploma programmes to support the hospitality sector’s transformation.
The initiatives were unveiled at the institution’s School of Hospitality (SOH) Industry Day last Friday, in line with the day’s theme of Ready Employers, Ready Employees.
New partners Frasers Hospitality, Eureka Technologies, DRx; photo credit: Republic Polytechnic School of Hospitality
The school’s Diploma in Wellness, Lifestyle and Spa Management will be renamed Diploma in Wellness and Hospitality Business, and updated with new modules to equip students with relevant skills and up-to-date knowledge on wellness industry trends.
SOH will also collaborate with its 14 new partners – spanning the hospitality, events, wellness and F&B sectors – on areas including the test-bedding of technologies and development of processes to enhance productivity, and providing RP students with more opportunities for skills training.
Dilmah Singapore will also provide a Dilmah School of Tea classroom and training room, and explore setting up a joint lab with RP.
The latest partnerships bring SOH’s total number of MoU partners to 41.
Examples of productivity-enhancement solutions that the school (under the Hospitality Solutions Centre) has rolled out include Singapore’s first hotel front-of-house Autonomous Guided Robot at M Social Singapore Hotel, known as Automated Room-service Associate, in collaboration with StarHub and robotic vendor, Savioke. The Millennium & Copthorne group now plans to deploy the solution across all its Singapore hotels.
At 30 Bencoolen Hotel, RP also launched the Smart Room and Integrated Solutions Ecosystem in collaboration with Eureka Technology, Saflok and Amadeus to resolve electrical defects before affecting the guest experience.
The second edition of ITB China, which will take place at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition from May 16-18, 2018, is offering exhibitors who register early by August 31, 2017 a 10 per cent discount on stand fees.
Interested parties may register at www.itb-china.com/exhibitors/exhibitor-registration/.
Since online registration for ITB China 2018 opened, the number of exhibitor sign-ups has surpassed that seen at the same time last year for the show’s inaugural edition, according to the show organiser.
David Axiotis, general managed of ITB China, said he is expecting the exhibition space will become “scarce again” despite having significantly increased the overall scale of the event.
ITB China 2017 saw the participation of some 600 exhibitors from 70 countries alongside 10,000 attendees.
A DoubleTree by Hilton property is scheduled to open its doors in Vietnam’s Halong city in 2Q2021, which will increase Hilton’s footprint in Vietnam to nine hotels open or under development.
At the singing ceremony, (from left) Tri Duc Hotel JSC’s Tran Toan Thang and Truong Thanh Long along with Hilton’s Guy Phillips and Christian Pucher
The brand’s third hotel under development in the country, the 318-room DoubleTree by Hilton Halong Bay will four F&B options, a spa, fitness centre and swimming pool, as well as 1,200m2 of meetings and events facilities including a ballroom.
Located in the city’s tourism precinct about 14km from Tuan Chau International Port, the hotel provides boat and cruise connections to Halong Bay as well as access to entertainment and attractions including Halong Ocean Park.
Dream Palace pool
What The 18-deck, 151,300-tonne Genting Dream was designed to tap the high-end market in China and Asia. Out of 1,674 cabins, more than 70 per cent offer private balconies while over 100 provide connecting rooms catering for extended families and groups.
I embarked on a three-day, two-night weekend cruise that departed from Kai Tak Cruise Terminal on a Friday evening, looking forward to a full-day high seas voyage across the South China Sea the following day and the journey back to shore on the third day.
Apart from the six meals included at Dream Dining Room (Lower and Upper) and Lido Buffet, guests are spoilt for choice with over 35 restaurant and bar concepts covering Chinese regional, Asian and international cuisine to suit different palates. My favourite is the Silk Road, which offers Chinese fine dining by day and turns into a cabaret and burlesque show by night.
While there is no room service, some food outlets like the Lobby Bar operate till 01.00 while Bar 360 stays open round the clock.
Not to be missed are some pioneering concepts like the world’s first Johnnie Walker House at sea serving upscale Scotch whisky.
Balcony stateroom
Why The premium Asian hospitality style is fully reflected from the bilingual (English and Chinese) public signage and room keycard, as well as its 2,000 crew members who are mostly friendly Asian faces i.e. Chinese and Filipino. Since the liner has a guest capacity of 3,352, it creates a high crew-to-guest ratio for cruising in Asia.
My 20m2 Balcony Stateroom on the 12th floor can accommodate up to four guests, thanks to the extra sofa bed and a spare duvet set stored in the cabinet. But what won my heart were the premium in-room amenities – think TWG tea bags packed in a dedicated black case – and the comfortable bed, clad with bouncy duvet and a choice of pillow from satin to feathers, ensured two nights of sweet dreams for me.
For those who yearn for the ultimate luxury experience, the two-storey Dream Mansion offers a ‘ship-within-a-ship’ experience with 142 suites featuring European-style butler service and exclusive facilities like private pool deck swimming pool and Genting Club restaurant.
How After completing a business conference on Saturday morning, I was left with only half a day to explore this 335m-long vessel proper – and that’s not enough.
Duty-free retail outlets and gaming facilities aside, the ship abounds with diverse entertainment options. The 45-minute China’s Got Talent is a theatrical representation of the Chinese hit TV series held in the 999-seat Zodiac Theatre at 21.00 while the Rhythm Divine: Latin Ballroom Dance Show is scheduled at 23.00 and the Voyage of a Lover’s Dream takes place at 14.00 and 16.00.
However, I missed the afternoon shows as I was too engrossed in other recreational activities like bubble football, hip hop dance with staff, mini golf, a water park featuring six different slides and a rock climbing wall.
Karaoke fans will be thrilled to know that five private karaoke rooms are provided on board.
Verdict An ideal short escape for families as well as guests seeking a premium cruise experience at sea.
Rates Summer promotional rate from HK$1,649 (US$212) per person, based on double occupancy and excluding gratuity, port charges and visa
Contact details
Tel: (852)-2317-7711
Website: dreamcruiseline.com
Email: reservations@dreamcruiseline.com
As part of ASEAN’s 50th anniversary celebrations, Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and ASTINDO earlier this week organised a gala dinner at Hotel Borobudur in Jakarta, which was attended by key tourism and industry figures in Indonesia, representatives from ASEAN countries and buyers from around the world.
The event was also a showcase of ASEAN’s tourism diversity and solidarity, as regional carriers Garuda Indonesia, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Philippine Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines and AirAsia collaborated to bring around 100 buyers from around 12 countries on an ASEAN fam trip, visiting the airlines’ respective countries and Indonesia. The following day, these buyers attended the Indonesia Travel Mart, hosted by Indonesia Tourism Business Association, before departing for various parts of Indonesia.
High-end travellers are increasingly choosing subtle indulgence and travel forms that relate to their personal values, as opposed to flashy, conspicuous consumption, according to recent research by Sabre in collaboration with TrendWatching.
“The evolution of high-end travel is creating a marketplace where ‘luxury’ is defined by the most exclusive, unique experiences that reside at the intersection of affluence and access,” said Sarah Kennedy Ellis, vice president of global marketing and digital experience at Sabre Hospitality Solutions.
“We see guests moving beyond traditional ideas of status and embracing highly-bespoke travel opportunities that focus more on the individual traveller’s personality and values and less about expressing opulence.”
One trend highlighted in the Future of Luxury Travel report is wellness consumption. According to figures from the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness tourism segment is expected to grow by over 37 per cent to US$808 billion over the next three years. A major driver of this growth will be luxury travellers looking for opportunities to better themselves.
Secondly, low-key luxury is on the rise for affluent travellers who identify with “post-status” ideals. These travellers choose subtle indulgence over prominent labels and showy opulence. The “no-frills chic” phenomenon sees travellers choosing travel that contrasts with traditional luxury – which, itself, is a new expression of status through defying convention, Sabre observed.
Another trend is what Sabre refers to as “indulgence without guilt”. The report cites examples of emerging high-end products and services whose selling points include positive environmental or social impact. From ice cream made from fruit that would otherwise have been sent to a landfill, to lab-grown gems that offer an ethical alternative to diamond mining, wealthy consumers are choosing luxury products that help make the world a better place.
The full report is available for download here.
