Credit: 123rf

HONG KONG-LISTED Travel Expert has ventured into the wedding travel segment by acquiring a 60 per cent stake in I’m Yours Wedding since April 2015, establishing a spin-off from the brand now named Take My Hand, a full-service wedding agency.

According to Iras Ko, CEO of Travel Expert, the group adopts an aggressive expansion strategy by widening its portfolio of services. She said: “What sets us apart is the expertise of our team. Instead of mobilizing internal staff to run the business, we invested into a wedding planning company and leverage on their professionalism as well as resources.

“We’re planning to have three to five wedding concept stores up in next six months and the first one will be situated in Central,” added Ko.

According to her, both overseas photography and wedding trips showed a similar pace of growth. “Seoul is the most popular destination among overseas pre-wedding photography packages while Bali, Okinawa and Guam remain hot for weddings,” she said.

The brand is currently positioned to tap mid to upscale clients, in both local and overseas markets. “In fact, both markets complement each other. I had a client who staged a small overseas wedding but later realised the need to celebrate with friends and siblings back in Hong Kong,” said Tim Lau, general manager of Take My Hand.

Dotonbori, one of the main tourist destinations in Osaka, Japan. Credit: 123rf

KINKI Nippon Tourist has teamed up with leading Japanese technology firm FueTrek to develop voice recognition technology, designed to aid Japan’s tourism industry.

Together, the companies are planning to launch a new service in early 2016 that will provide small robots capable of acting as translators, as well as tablet computers and wearable devices that will be able to translate speech in a number of languages.

They are aiming to market the service to small businesses such as hotels, restaurants and attractions that are increasingly coming into contact with customers from around the world.

Many companies in Japan’s travel sector admit they are struggling to find sufficient staff with the right language skills to communicate with the booming number of inbound tourists.

“We do not get too many foreign tourists and I wonder if that might be because our website is in Japanese and they are put off by the idea that we do not speak English,” said Shinobu Shimabukuro, spokesperson at the Aqua Blue Spa in Okinawa.

“There is a free service in Okinawa where we can phone an interpreter to help us communicate with guests, but that is not very convenient,” she said.

However, not everyone is convinced that the new service will be an asset.

“We are always up for new ideas to help people get the most out of this wonderful country and culture, but I am not sure a little robot and tablet will do it,” said James Mundy, PR manager at Inside Japan Tours.

“I think Japanese people will still appreciate a foreigner making the effort to actually speak their language with the use of a phrasebook,” he added. “The effort goes a long way and makes for more meaningful interactions with the people of Japan.”

Credit: Singapore Tourism Board

THE twin Merlion statues at Singapore’s Merlion Park will be taking turns to shy away from tourists as they go through restoration works over the next two months, said the Singapore Tourism Board in a release.

Works will be carried out on the iconic landmarks in order to restore the water features of both statues.

The smaller Merlion Cub will be hoarded up for works from October 8 to November 17, while the bigger Merlion will be hoarded up for works from November 3 to 26.

Photography of the statues will not be possible during the renovation periods.

Credit: Alila Hotels and Resorts

ALILA Hotels and Resorts has opened the Alila Seminyak, the chain’s fifth property in Bali.

It is situated on Bali’s South-west coast, near nightspots such as Ku De Ta, La Lucciola and Potato Head, and comprises 240 contemporary-styled rooms, suites and a penthouse.

The resort is also the first in Indonesia to surpass the rigorous EarthCheck Standards, achieving a 44-point best practice score against the industry norm of five points, it said in a statement.

The resort focuses on using eco-friendly energy solutions such as utilising local and recyclable building materials, operating completely paperless and using their own bottled water. Additionally, low-energy light fixtures, rainwater harvesting, environmental and building management systems have also been implemented.

To celebrate the launch, the resort is offering guests a free night’s stay for every two nights booked, as well as a gift from the resort. Room rates start from US$265 per night.

Credit: Best Western International

BEST Western International has today unveiled plans to introduce a new company name, abbreviation, logos, as well as a new boutique brand in its bid to signify its evolution over the past 69 years.

The company will be renamed Best Western Hotels & Resorts and will use a new logo to identify the master company for its seven distinct brands: Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Plus Executive Residency, Best Western Premier, Vīb, BW Premier Collection and GLō.

GLō is the latest addition to the Best Western family, a broad-midscale new construction brand that offers a hip, boutique-style experience for savvy travellers.

The new logos for Best Western, Best Western Plus and Best Western Premier will enable guests to easily distinguish between the different brands. In addition, the rebranding focuses on the brand’s initials – BW – in the new logo, which will be used across all communication channels.

“All of our properties worldwide will be coordinating signage and logo implementation, with a critical mass being completed for the launch of our advertising campaign in early summer 2016,” said Ron Pohl, senior vice president of brand management for Best Western.

Adoption of the brand’s new logo and service promise are expected to be official in mid-November upon approval by Best Western hotel owners in North America, according to a statement.