The Korean Culinary Centre 

A NEW education and experience center in Seoul, designed to be the main tourism promotion facility for South Korea, has opened since April.

The K-Style Hub is located near Myeongdong district and offers a range of hands-on programmes that can also cater to incentive groups and congress participants.

According to Alice Sim, a representative from the centre, the four-storey building, which originally housed Korea Tourism Organization’s headquarters, now showcases different aspects of South Korean culture, giving visitors a taste of a broad range of offerings.

A Korean Culinary Centre occupying the entire top floor of the hub allows guests to learn how to prepare local cuisine themselves. Up to 40 participants can be accommodated at any one time for sessions ranging from 100 minutes to two hours, depending on the type of food being prepared.

Other areas of the hub are comprised of a variety of information counters, virtual reality experiences and interactive exhibits on topics like medical tourism, K-pop culture and local artwork.

Entrance to the K-Style Hub is free, but registration is required for cooking classes.

Photo of Kuta Beach, Bali taken earlier this year

POWERFUL waves and tidal floods have hit beachfronts in Java and Bali, affecting tourist spots in Indonesia.

The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) has released data showing 24 cities and regencies in Java being hit in the last couple of days, damaging houses, gazebos, wave breakers and other semi permanent buildings and infrastructure. No casualties were reported.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, head of the Data and Information Centre and spokesperson of BNPB, said the southern part of Yogyakarta was the most affected, where five- to seven-metre waves swept across 15 beach spots popular among domestic and international travellers, such as Glagah, Sundak and Congot.

Sutopo said tidal floods are continuing to come in today and over the next couple of days in areas like Jember, Surabaya and Jakarta, among many others.

In Bali, a spokesperson for the Bali Office of the Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics Councils (BMKG) said while Kuta Beach will remain open to the public, they encourage tourists to refrain from activities like swimming out at sea.

AUSTRALIA will begin testing three-year multiple-entry visas for visitors from India, Thailand, Vietnam and Chile by July.

The trial, announced as part of the Australian government’s 2016-2017 federal budget unveiled last month, will allow entry into Australia multiple times, with each stay valid for up to three months.

In response, the Indian travel trade has given the thumbs up saying the new visa will lead to growth in repeat visitations to Australia.

“It is a forward-looking strategy and will effectively serve to catalyse demand for Australia, a destination that is already seeing strong uptake from Indians for leisure, in addition to bleisure and VFR travel,” said Rajeev D. Kale, president & country head – leisure travel, MICE, Thomas Cook India.

The sheer diversity of destination Australia calls for repeat visits, something the three-year visa enables. Moreover, its per-visit validity goes a long way to incentivise longer stays, Kale added.

Said Uniglobe Swiftravel chairman Rajji Rai: “India is already among the top ten tourism markets for Australia with both leisure and business travellers frequenting the destination. Many Indian students stay in Australia and this move will also benefit parents of such students who visit their children often.”

Australia issued about 233,000 visas to Indian visitors in 2015.

Artist impression of the precinct’s amphitheatre

DEMOLITION works will commence on the Gold Coast’s council chambers building next week to make way for the 17ha Gold Coast Cultural Precinct, which will serve as the live site for the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

The design of the precinct, which is already home to the Arts Centre Gold Coast, was awarded to Melbourne-based ARM Architecture and will be developed over the next 10-15 years.

Stage one of the A$400 million (US$298 million) project, described as an “enduring cultural, artistic and civic heart for the city”, will result in an outdoor amphitheatre for cultural performances and functions for 850-5000 guests; a riverside hub, which will transform the existing building into a transitional gallery exhibition space; and an ‘Artscape’ outdoor garden.

Valued at A$37 million, the first stage will also include the detailed design of a pedestrian and cycle bridge connecting the precinct to Surfers Paradise and Chevron Island.

Anna Carroll, director of the Cultural Precinct Project, Arts Centre Gold Coast, said that while the Commonwealth Games has spurred on the project, this had been a long-term vision for the city.

“Our cultural institutions have been outgrown,” she said.

“We’re trying to build a space that’s versatile so it can be used for formal performances, but when it’s not in use there will be spaces for the community to access. The architects are really taking on that challenge and stage one is very much on track for 2018.”

ROYAL Caribbean International’s newest ship, the Ovation of the Seas, will be homeporting in Singapore for a season next year, with sales channels officially opened today.

Over ten itineraries will take place from March to April 2017 that includes three- to five-night sailings to Penang, Phuket, and Bangkok (Laem Chabang), as well as a one-way cruise to Tianjin with calls at Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My), Hue/Danang (Chan May), Hong Kong and Seoul (Incheon).

Some 42,000 guests are expected to set sail through Singapore during this period.

The announcement was made during the Quantum Class smartship’s maiden call in Singapore yesterday at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre, bringing more than 4000 passengers with it to the city-state.

The ship is bound for a sold-out three-night sailing from Singapore to Phuket today, before going on a 12-night one-way trip to Tianjin on Sunday.

During the inaugural event, Sean Treacy, managing director Southeast Asia, Royal Caribbean Cruises, expressed his excitement for the warm reception and gratitude to travel agents here for making this a success.

He added: “With Ovation returning next year, Mariner coming for a full winter season, and also the return of Voyager, we’re looking at about 30 per cent capacity growth next year in Singapore.”

Treacy further revealed that at current, roughly 60 per cent of passenger load from Singapore are fly-cruise guests and the rest local, with weekend sailings tending to have more domestic holidaymakers compared to longer four-night or more itineraries.

“In the long-term, fly-cruise is extremely important for us here. Singapore is a great market and our travel agencies really support us, but at the end of the day, the opportunity lies outside. What’s great about Singapore is its position. It is a short flight for people from India, China, Indonesia and Malaysia, but fly-cruise is the future,” he said.

While the leisure segment remains Royal Caribbean’s core customer base, opportunities are also opening up in the MICE segment as in accordance with the broader cruising industry.

For them, at least 90 per cent or more guests are still leisure customers, said Treacy, but MICE sales are showing increasing traction.

“We’ve seen some good groups. We just had a charter from Nu Skin for the whole ship out of Southampton earlier this year, so there’s definitely growth in that area,” he said.