China has restarted its visa-free arrangement for short-term visitors from Japan and eight other nations, including Bulgaria and Romania, in a bid to boost tourism, trade and investment.
Japanese travellers can now enjoy visa exemption on stays of up to 30 days until the end of calendar year 2025, marking an extension to the previous waiver, which was on stays of up to 15 days and had been suspended since March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Japanese travellers can now enjoy visa exemption in China on stays of up to 30 days until the end of calendar year 2025; Beijing’s Forbidden City pictured
The extension is designed to make tourism and business travel from Japan “more convenient” than before, according to the Chinese government.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi welcomed the move, stating that the government hopes the resumption of visa-free entry into China for Japanese travellers will help “promote more people-to-people exchanges”.
China is one of 24 countries and regions in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific that is receiving priority promotion as tourist destinations in a bid to boost outbound travel from Japan. Launched in May 2023, the campaign is run by the Japan Tourism Agency and the Japan Association of Travel Agents, with the cooperation of overseas tourism bureaus.
It is unclear, though, how effective such campaigns and the new visa waiver, might be in increasing Japan outbound travel to China.
Overseas travellers from Japan totalled only 1.2 million in September 2024, 30.8 per cent less than in the same month in 2019, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Furthermore, Japan-China relations have been strained this year, most recently by the fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen in September.
TTG Asia news bulletin will be taking a break from December 9.
We will be back on January 6, 2025, when we will resume delivering the latest headlines straight to your inbox. The site will continue to be updated with articles during the month, so do check back regularly.
In the meantime, TTG Asia Media wishes all readers Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
In the ever-evolving landscape of the hospitality industry, the meetings and events sector in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is showing robust growth and optimism as we look ahead to 2025. According to the latest Cvent/NorthStar Meetings Industry Pulse Report, APAC planners are gearing up for a busy future with more meetings and increased attendance.
Navodit Srivastava, senior regional director, sales, Cvent, discusses the report’s key findings and what they mean for hospitality professionals in the region.
Optimism and confidence on the rise
The report highlights a significant surge in optimism among APAC planners. An impressive 63 per cent of planners reported feeling more optimistic than they did six months ago, the highest rate of optimism compared to their counterparts in North America and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). In fact, 43 per cent of APAC planners are currently involved in sourcing new events and 26 per cent are booking new business.
Anticipating growth in meetings and attendance A noteworthy 56 per cent of APAC planners anticipate producing more meetings in 2025, while an additional 35 per cent expect to maintain the same volume. This level of confidence is unmatched globally, underscoring the strength of the meetings industry in APAC. Furthermore, nearly 45 per cent of planners foresee stronger attendance at next year’s events compared to 2024, indicating a robust demand for in-person gatherings.
Popular destinations and trends
South-east Asia came across as the top regional destination as cited by 85 per cent of APAC planners, with Singapore and Thailand leading as the most popular intra-regional destinations. Interestingly, there is also a growing interest in Europe, with 52 per cent of APAC planners planning events on the continent, surpassing the interest in Northeast Asia at 43 per cent.
Challenges and concerns
Despite the optimism, APAC planners face several challenges. Higher costs for goods and services, budget constraints, and rising airline prices are primary concerns. Accommodation rates have been cited as the biggest hotel-related challenge, putting pressure on planners to find cost-effective solutions without compromising on quality.
Key decision factors
When choosing a site for their meetings, APAC planners are prioritising costs and quality over other factors such as sustainability or corporate social responsibility. This shift underscores the importance of providing value-driven solutions that meet planners’ budgetary constraints while ensuring high standards of service and facilities.
What does it mean for hospitality professionals
These findings present both opportunities and challenges for hospitality professionals. The anticipated growth in meetings and events demands a proactive approach in enhancing service offerings, managing costs effectively, and ensuring competitive pricing.
While rising costs are a concern for planners, they prioritise the services offered by their preferred venues. They prefer hotels and venues that are easy to work with, collaboration is key between planners and hoteliers throughout the event planning journey to ensure a successful event, contributing to delivering a seamless and memorable experience for attendees.
Investing in a platform that facilitates this collaboration is crucial, for example, Cvent Passkey bridges the gap between registration and room blocks for planners and simplifies group bookings by automating rooming lists for hoteliers.
By collaborating closely, planners and hoteliers can overcome challenges and optimiseresources to meet event objectives. Clear and timely communication throughout and well-coordinated event management will lead to a more successful event. This puts the venue in a great position to win repeat business from their planner partners.
Conclusion
The state of the meetings industry in APAC is strong, with a promising outlook for 2025. As planners prepare for more meetings and larger attendee numbers, hospitality professionals must rise to the occasion by delivering value-driven solutions and maintaining high service standards. By addressing the challenges and leveraging the opportunities, the hospitality industry in APAC can continue to thrive and lead on the global stage. For a deeper dive into the findings and to stay updated with the latest trends in the meetings industry, download the latest Cvent/NorthStar Meetings Industry Pulse Report – APAC Edition.
Navodit Srivastava, senior regional sales director, Cvent, is a transformational entrepreneur and senior commercial leader with over 20 years of experience driving revenue growth in SaaS, hospitality, travel, AI and software industries. With a proven track record of building high-performing teams, creating strategic partnerships, and delivering measurable results, he is passionate about harnessing AI, software and innovation to drive business growth and unforgettable MICE experiences.
Visitors to Kyoto are still waiting to enjoy the city’s peak autumn leaves season, which has been delayed this year due to rising temperatures caused by climate change.
One of Japan’s most popular destinations during fall due to the vast expanses of colourful foliage, the city typically sees most seasonal visitors by the end of November, the prime viewing time.
Arashiyama is expected to see its autumn leaves fall in mid-December
This year, however, the ideal date to view the momiji (maple) leaves in central Kyoto is expected to be December 16 due to “unusually high temperatures well into October this year”, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Arashiyama, one of the city’s most popular sightseeing districts and home to Tenryu-ji Temple and Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, is also predicted to be at its best for autumn leaves in mid-December.
As a result, guides and tour companies report a scramble as tourists seek to change their itineraries by visiting other parts of Japan before returning to Kyoto for the peak period. Many are heading north to Kanazawa, where both yellow and red leaves are already visible.
Still, chasing autumn leaves does not guarantee successful viewing as higher temperatures and other unseasonal weather phenomena has made Japan-wide forecasting more challenging.
The Japan Weather Association noted that vibrant autumn leaves require several conditions that have not been met this year. They include “moderate heat, sunlight, and rainfall during summer, no damage to the leaves from strong typhoon winds, and in autumn, adequate sunlight and rainfall along with significant temperature differences between day and night”.
Agoda, through its strategic partnerships arm Rocket Travel by Agoda, has teamed up with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) to drive inbound travel and encourage longer stays in the Emirate.
This marks the first collaboration of its kind between DCT Abu Dhabi and a digital travel platform, with the partnership enabling DCT Abu Dhabi to drive demand through advertising solutions while Agoda expands its hotel network to boost supply and increase demand.
The partnership aims to boost tourism with exclusive deals and targeted marketing
Agoda’s supply team will collaborate with hotels in Abu Dhabi to offer the best rates to travellers during the campaign, while DCT Abu Dhabi will leverage Agoda Media Solutions to target active travellers through a cross-channel marketing campaign, maximising outreach and boosting tourism to the region.
The year-long campaign will see DCT Abu Dhabi utilise Agoda’s online presence for various marketing efforts, including onsite banners, social media amplification, and additional discounts on bookings to Abu Dhabi.
Abdullah Yousuf, director of international operations at DCT Abu Dhabi, remarked: “Rocket Travel by Agoda’s industry insights and Agoda’s strong Asian traveller base align perfectly with our vision to position Abu Dhabi as a top travel destination. This collaboration is a strategic move to enhance our tourism outreach and bring more visitors to the Emirate.”
“With this first of a kind collaboration for Agoda in the UAE, we are excited to support DCT Abu Dhabi in its goal of introducing the best of cultural, historical, and natural wonders to a global audience and boost tourist visits to the Emirate,” added Tarik Fadil, vice president of supply at Agoda.
Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas, in collaboration with JungleWalla Adventures and Wildlife Tours, reports success in its Dollar for Deeds initiative, raising funds for worthy causes through the brand’s CSR programme.
With the introduction of Dollar for Deeds at Anantara Desaru Coast last year, guests were given the option to add five ringgit (US$1.10) per night to their bill, with the property matching the donation ringgit for ringgit. From January to October 2024, guests contributed 74,847 ringgit, an amount matched by the hotel, bringing the total donation to 149,694 ringgit.
Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas’ Dollar for Deeds initiative has seen great success
The funds raised supported Project Rewild Desaru, an ambitious environmental restoration initiative focused on revitalising the terrestrial and marine ecosystems of Desaru Coast. In response to habitat degradation caused by urbanisation, deforestation, and other human activities, the project runs several key programmes, including bird censuses to track local avian species, tree planting to restore damaged landscapes, camera trap installations to monitor the health and diversity of ecosystems, and seed collecting to preserve local flora. Anantara guests have the opportunity to participate in the latter two activities.
Torsten Richter, area general manager, Anantara Desaru Coast Resort & Villas, said: “We couldn’t have achieved this without the incredible support of our partners from JungleWalla and our wonderful guests. Thanks to their generous donations, Project Rewild Desaru was able to launch hornbill nesting boxes, helping to conserve their populations in areas where tree destruction has made natural nesting impossible.
He added that the remaining funds were used for planting trees, camera trapping, seed collection and building green bridges for wildlife.
Sri Lankan authorities are bringing together all stakeholders in tourism at a conference in January to finalise a nation branding strategy to propel the industry which is enjoying a period of growth, officials said.
The campaign tagline You will come back for more devised some time back, will be discontinued and instead a nation branding strategy developed, Sri Lanka Tourism chairman Buddhika Hewawasam told TTG Asia this week. Hewawasam took over as chairman of the NTO a few weeks after a new government was installed in power following parliamentary elections on November 14.
Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka surged to 1.8 million from January to November 2024
“With input from the industry at this meeting in January, we want to develop one national brand (while) also piggybacking on the success and the popularity of Ceylon tea and Sri Lanka in the cricket field,” he said. In the future, tourism in Sri Lanka will focus on promoting cricket and its tea, two things which Sri Lanka is famous for.
The tagline You will come back for more was developed in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis in 2022, both of which affected tourism. Hewawasam noted: “This tagline was created to woo back tourists and is not relevant today as Sri Lanka has won a lot of recognition in recent times internationally. We need to look afresh and come up with a strategy that attracts all markets.”
Tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka surged to 1.8 million from January to November 2024, up from 1.3 million last year. With a target of over two million visitors, the country’s top source markets include India, Russia, the UK, Germany, and China.
He added that a PR company will be appointed in January to launch the promotion campaign.
The You will come back for more tagline was developed in 2022 but only launched earlier this year after delays in approval. It was introduced as part of a single campaign, rather than a nation branding effort.
The inclusion of 11 Asian airports in the new OAG Megahubs 2024 report underscores the region’s growing prominence as a global aviation powerhouse and highlights several critical achievements, such as Asia’s strategic importance in facilitating the flow of people and goods, and strong tourism investments post-pandemic, details Mayur Patel, head of Asia at OAG Aviation.
This episode of TTG Conversation: Five Questions video news series continues the aviation development discussion with Patel, where he scrutinises the OAGMegahubs 2024 report to identify Asia’s competitive advantages in travel and tourism.
Among key takeaways are Kuala Lumpur’s rise as an aviation hub, the growing power of secondary airports in the region, things destinations are doing to translate their powerful air hub status into inbound tourism performance, and factors that will shape the list of next top megahubs.
Peach Aviationstarts service from Singapore to Osaka
Peach Aviation became the only Japanese airline to offer services from Changi Airport to Osaka, with its inaugural flight taking off on December 5.
The airline will offer daily seven-hour flights between the two destinations, operated on the Airbus A321LR.
AirAsia
AirAsia adds flights for upcoming Lunar New Year As AirAsia prepares to welcome the Year of the Snake in 2025, the airline will add seasonal flights for Chinese New Year, reconnecting families and friends between Singapore and East Malaysia.
From January 24 to February 5, customers can enjoy late-night flights from Singapore to Kuching, along with limited-time services to Sibu, Miri, and Tawau. With 22 extra flights to selected East Malaysia destinations, AirAsia will operate 43 flights during the festive season, offering over 7,900 seats.
Vietjet Thailand
Vietjet Thailand launches new Mumbai-Bangkok route
Vietjet Thailand has introduced its inaugural Mumbai-Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) service on December 3.
The new service will operate daily in the early stage.
Hong Kong Airlines
Hong Kong Airlines restarts Vancouver service Hong Kong Airlines will be resuming direct flights to Vancouver, Canada from January 18, 2025.
The twice-weekly services will provide additional travel options for passengers travelling between Hong Kong and Vancouver, and those connecting via Hong Kong.
Nikko Style Niseko Hanazono, Japan
Nikko Style Niseko Hanazono is set to open on December 15, and will offer 234 rooms across three categories, from Superior to Studio Suite. A highlight is the Nikko Style Suite, which comes equipped with a hot spring bath, and directly connected to the Rooftop Lounge. Rooms on the seventh and eighth floors are equipped with their own natural hot spring baths.
The L-shaped complex boasts a prime location directly facing the ski slopes of Niseko Hanazono Resort. Facilities include a restaurant, café and bar, club lounge, gym, dry sauna, open-air bath, and more.
dusitD2 Fagu
dusitD2 Fagu, India
dusitD2 Fagu is set amid the majestic Himalayan landscape of Fagu, near Shimla. The property features 80 guestrooms boasting views of the surrounding valleys and mountains.
Located just 80 minutes from Shimla Airport and four-and-a-half hours from Chandigarh Airport, dusitD2 Fagu is also easily accessible from Kalka Railway Station, which provides access to the UNESCO-listed Kalka-Shimla Toy Train. Other nearby attractions include Kufri, Mashobra, Narkanda, and Mahasu Peak.
The hotel will feature a spa, swimming pool, F&B, an amphitheatre, event venues, and an EV charging station.
Noku Maldives, Vignette Collection
Noku Maldives, Vignette Collection, the Maldives
The 50-key private villa Noku Maldives, Vignette Collection is situated on the Kudafunafaru island, just 45 minutes by seaplane ride from Male International Airport.
It features 30 overwater villas and 20 beachfront villas, most of which have a private pool.
Facilities include two restaurants and bars, outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre, spa, retail outlet and a diving and water sports centre.
Habyt Kada at Maxwell
Habyt Kada at Maxwell, Singapore
Located at Tanjong Pagar in Singapore, the new Habyt Kada at Maxwell provides guests with flexible accommodation for all lengths of stays in a preserved heritage building dating back to the 1920s colonial period.
Featuring 18 rooms ranging from ensuite to studio, two-bedroom and three-bedroom, each comes with a kitchenette and a view of the city’s urban landscape. Facilities comprise a gym, wellness centre, and a co-working space.
Nearby for guests to explore are Maxwell Food Centre, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Chinatown, and nearby MRT stations for easy access to the rest of the garden city.
In the meantime, TTG Asia Media wishes all readers Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
